Strength in Numbers : A Feminist Analysis of The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Abstract: The Color Purple (1982) is a well-known feminist work of literature written by the ‘womanist’ Alice Walker. This analysis sought to analyse Walker’s novel in order to identify and discuss the criticism of patriarchal power relations in the novel. This was done by looking closely at the character of Celie and the characters around her, focusing on, especially, the female characters’ empowerment but also on how the male characters are liberated from patriarchy. The observations were then analysed through a filter based partly on feminist criticism and partly on psychoanalytic concepts adopted and interpreted by feminists. The relevant narrative and story arcs were also analysed through the lens of Walker’s brand of feminism called womanism to explore the importance of female bonding and sisterhood for gaining power and overcoming oppression. In the end, it was concluded that the novel displays an overt breakdown of patriarchy as a destructive force and provides the ideology of womanism as an alternative to the patriarchal ideology.