Transformative Lesbian Experiences in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple : A Look at Celie’s Development

Abstract: The Color Purple (1982) focuses on highlighting Celie’s journey throughout life as an oppressed black woman living in the South in the United States in the early 1900s. Celie is abused mentally, physically, and sexually by her stepfather Alphonso and her husband Mr. _____. This is the oppression she has faced, which holds back her search for her own identity. Black feminism, lesbian feminism and queer theory are explained and used in order to understand how to analyze The Color Purple. Gender performance, compulsory heterosexuality and lesbianism are all important concepts that are used to analyze Celie’s oppression and development. This paper highlights the factors that have aided Celie in her search for selfhood, which are motherhood, female solidarity, black lesbian shamelessness and especially her lesbian relationship with the singer Shug. The analysis concludes that Shug was both the catalyst and one of the driving forces which enabled Celie to find her voice.