Portrayal of the Genders

A theme that is frequently explored in The Color Purple is the idea of gender roles. This is analyzed in multiple ways such as power, violence, sexuality, and stereotypes. The overwhelming control that men have over women is shown through the quote, "He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church. I may have got somethin in my eye but I didn't wink. I don't even look at mens. That's the truth. I look at women, tho, cause I'm not scared of them." (Walker 5) It is as if women are not allowed to have a mind or body of their own; men are able to control them to whatever extent they wish. Evidently Celie is already afraid of men so I don't understand why would she feel the need to 'wink' at one. But since her Pa interpreted her action as a wink, he can exert his power on her. Not only does this exhibit power but it exhibits the stereotype of women being the weaker sex. Gender roles are also proved through the use of sexuality. "I tell him I can fix myself up for him. I duck into my room and come out wearing horsehair, feathers, and a pair of our new mammy high heel shoes. He beat me for dressing trampy but he do it to me anyway." (Walker 7) is plays into the idea of living up to the expectations of men in any way possible. Whether or not the women enjoy it, they will do whatever it takes to please the men in their lives.
Despite having been beaten and put through hell, Celie is still so afraid of men that she even stoops to the level of telling Harpo that it is okay to beat Sofia. "Wives is like children. You have to let 'em know who got the upper hand. Nothing can do that better than a good sound beating." (Walker 35) As I mentioned earlier, she is giving this advice to Harpo even though she endured the same horrendous pain. Sofia is not even doing anything that is worthy of being beat. Rather, Sofia acts as an exception to the stereotypical gender role. "But not Sofia. She do what she want, don't pay me no mind at all. I try to beat her, she black my eyes." (Walker 63) When Harpo tries to beat Sofia, she proves that women can be just as powerful as men if they want to. Instead of taking the beating, she fights back because she realizes that she has not done anything to deserve it. She takes care of the children and the house; she may not always listen to her husband but she doesn't have to. Sofia embodies everything that Celie wants to be- exertive and powerful.
Shug is another example of a character defying the stereotypical gender roles. "He ain't beat me much since you made him quit" (Walker 109) Shug came into Celie's life and became her voice. She told Albert (Mr. _____) that he should not be hitting Celie because she is a good wife and does everything that is asked of her. Since she never had the courage to stand up for herself, the fearlessness displayed by Shug is exactly what she needed. She shows Celie that you don't have to fall to the helpless stereotype given to women. Men are powerful, but women can be powerful too.