On Celie's Self-Awakening in The Color Purple from a Perspective of Radical Feminism

Abstract

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple stands as a seminal work in African American literature, renowned for its unflinching portrayal of Black women’s struggles against multiple oppressions. While existing scholarship has extensively explored themes of race, gender, and resilience within the text, much of it has inadequately addressed the radical feminist underpinnings of protagonist Celie Johnson’s narrative arc. This thesis analyzes Alice Walker’s The Color Purple through radical feminism, examining how protagonist Celie Johnson’s journey from subjugation to empowerment critiques systemic patriarchy and embodies a intersectional resistance. By integrating theories of Shulamith Firestone, Andrea Dworkin, Mary Daly, and Black feminists like Bell Hooks and Audre Lorde, the study argues that Celie’s awakening redefines radical feminism as a communal, culturally rooted praxis. Chapter 2 explores Celie’s reproductive and domestic labor as a site of patriarchal exploitation, demonstrating how her communal care practices offer a Black feminist alternative to Firestone’s techno-centric solutions. Chapter 3 uses Dworkin’s critique of heterosexuality to analyze Celie’s sexual subjugation and her liberation through same-sex desire, aligning with Lorde’s concept of the erotic as power. Chapter 4 examines her linguistic journey from silence to self-narration, highlighting how Black Southern dialect and epistolary form create a feminist vernacular that subverts patriarchal language. This study contributes to literary criticism by offering a new reading of the novel’s radical feminist politics and intervenes in feminist theory by advocating for an inclusive, intersectional framework. Its significance lies in bridging the gap between radical feminism and Black feminist thought, providing insights for contemporary movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter.