In Alice Walker’s acclaimed 1982 novel The Color Purple, the color purple holds great symbolic meaning and represents various themes and ideas throughout the work. Purple is a color that is associated with royalty, spirituality, creativity, wealth, and ambition. In the novel, Walker uses the color purple to symbolize both oppression and empowerment for the main character Celie as she undergoes a remarkable personal transformation.
Purple as a Symbol of Oppression
Early in the novel, the color purple is strongly associated with oppression, suffering, and vulnerability for Celie. She is abused and mistreated by her stepfather Alphonso and later her husband Mr. _____. Celie’s life is filled with sorrow and hardship. She is constantly subjected to domestic violence, emotional manipulation, and sexual abuse. During these experiences of subjugation, Celie is surrounded by the color purple:
- Celie wears plain purple dresses made of linen or cotton. These dresses represent her modesty and plainness as others mistreat and control her.
- Celie collects purple flowers that she finds while working hard in the fields. The purple flowers represent her creativity and spirit despite her circumstances.
- Celie discovers a purple folktale about a young girl who was beaten but remained strong. This story echoes her own life experiences.
- Celie writes letters to God on purple colored paper. The purple paper highlights how she turns to her faith for comfort amidst suffering.
For most of the first half of the novel, the color purple denotes Celie’s pain, lack of agency, and inability to fully express her individuality. It is a color of silence, compliance, and survival for Celie as she struggles through immense hardship and abuse.
Purple as a Symbol of Empowerment
In the second half of The Color Purple, however, the meaning associated with the color purple begins to shift and evolve. As Celie grows stronger, leaves her abusive marriage, and discovers her self-worth, the color purple takes on a new symbolism of freedom, independence, and empowerment. Some key examples include:
- Celie embraces the color purple, wearing pants, shirts, and hats in various shades of purple. She expresses her individuality through her clothing.
- Celie dyes some of her dresses purple, transforming them from plain to vibrant and beautiful.
- Celie opens her own business selling self-designed purple pants. Her pants become popular and she earns her own income.
- Celie transforms from shy and reserved to confident and outspoken. Purple represents her new voice.
Celie discovers her inner strength and begins to live life on her own terms. The color purple shifts from representing oppression to freedom. It becomes associated with independence, dignity, and justice.
Significance of Purple in Themes of Sexuality and Sisterhood
The color purple also relates to themes of sexuality, love, and sisterhood in Walker’s novel:
- Shug Avery, an independent, sexual, and wise woman, first introduces purple into Celie’s life. Shug wears purple and gives purple fabric to Celie.
- Shug and Celie develop an intimate romantic relationship. The color purple represents their love and sexual awakening.
- Celie connects with her long lost sister Nettie, who wears a purple dress. Their sisterhood provides strength.
- Nettie is fascinated by the color purple in nature, like the purple flowers and butterflies in Africa. This symbolizes beauty and hope.
Purple unites many of the female relationships in The Color Purple. It highlights female strength, love, resilience, and solidarity in the face of hardship.
The Significance of the Title
Importantly, the significance of the color purple is contained within the novel’s title itself. By choosing the title The Color Purple, Walker highlights the great symbolic meaning and evolution of the color purple over the course of Celie’s life journey. While at first representing oppression, the color purple transforms into a vibrant symbol of independence, identity, sexuality, resilience, sisterhood, and empowerment.
The color purple reflects the message of hope and transformation that is central to the narrative arc of Celie’s character in the novel. Despite abuse and trauma, she discovers her self-worth and strength. The color purple charts this powerful shift from subjugation to liberation.
Use of Purple in Other Aspects of the Novel
Beyond its role in plot and character development, Walker also uses the color purple more broadly in description, imagery, and language throughout her novel:
- Purple sunsets, purple flowers, and purple butterflies occur in nature images.
- The deep purple color of blackberries, plums, and grapes are mentioned.
- Descriptions of purple fabrics, clothing, quilts, and curtains appear.
- Celie expresses her dreams and fantasies of a “purple winter.”
- Nettie describes African sunsets as “purple, orange, and yellow.”
Rich sensory details related to the color purple create vivid imagery throughout the novel. Purple becomes part of the scenery, food, clothes, sunsets, seasons, and fantasy in Celie’s world.
Purple in Other Characters’ Lives
Purple holds not just meaning for Celie, but for other characters as well:
- Shug Avery – Purple represents Shug’s sexual freedom, vibrancy, and spiritual wisdom.
- Sofia – Her purple dress at Harpo and Sofia’s wedding symbolizes her strength.
- Nettie – Her purple clothes represent hope and her bond with Celie.
- Adam – Purple butterflies and flowers represent beauty and love in Africa.
- Harpo – His purple shirt signals leaving behind domestic abuse.
The color purple empowers different characters in different ways, from sexuality to hope to freedom. Yet it centers most strongly around Celie’s transformation.
Interpretations of Purple Meaning
Why did Walker choose purple as such an important symbolic color in this work? Scholars have proposed several interpretations of purple’s meaning in The Color Purple:
- Purple’s blend of red and blue represents a bridge between female (red) and male (blue). Celie moves between these worlds.
- Purple is associated with spirituality, imagination, and mysticism – all of which Celie discovers.
- In Africa, purple symbolizes feminine spirituality which Celie connects to.
- Purple represents nonconformity – Celie learns to resist social norms and expectations.
There are many rich symbolic layers related to the color purple and what it represents regarding femininity, gender, independence, spirituality, and transformation in Celie’s journey.
Conclusion
In The Color Purple, Alice Walker uses the color purple as a complex symbol that evolves over the course of the narrative. At first representing oppression, vulnerability and silence, the color purple transforms into a bold symbol of freedom, confidence, sexuality and independence. Through Celie’s story arc, Walker associates this color with both subjugation and liberation, tracing her protagonist’s remarkable personal growth and empowerment. The color purple reflects the major themes of the novel, making it a powerful and memorable choice for the book’s title.
With its rich symbolism related to femininity, spirituality, hope, and transformation, the color purple unites the female characters, nature images, plot turning points, and themes in Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It charts Celie’s journey from object to subject, from shame to strength, and from isolation to love. The color purple is a vibrant thread that runs throughout this poignant literary work.