Topic > The Color Purple by Alice Walker and The...

Throughout history society has been controlled by men and for this reason women have been exposed to very demanding expectations. A woman was expected to be a wife, a mother, a cook, a housekeeper, and sexually obedient to men. As a form of patriarchal silence, any woman who deviated from these expectations was often the victim of physical, emotional, and social beatings. Creativity and individuality were dirty, sinful and very inappropriate for a respectful woman. By taking away women's voices, men were able to remove any power they might have had. In both Alice Walker's “The Color Purple” and Kate Chopin's “The Awakening,” we see that there are two types of women who arise from the demands of these expectations. The first is the obedient woman, the one who has bent and given in until she becomes an empty, emotionless shell. In the eyes of men this type of woman was a sort of perfect "angel" in that she did and behaved exactly as was expected of her. The second type of woman is the "rebel", the woman willing to fight to maintain her creativity and passion. Patriarchal silence inspires a bond between those women who are forced into submission and/or those who are too submissive to maintain their individuality, and those women who are capable and willing to fight for the ability to be unique. Patriarchal silence can be applied in three different ways; physical abuse, emotional abuse, and social demands and/or expectations. Although both books have opposing cultural and racial factors that influence how women in the books are treated, we can still see that these three ways of silencing women are present. In “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, the most obvious form of patriarchal silence is the viola...... middle of paper ......it of freedom from their male counterparts. The second most important relationship that develops in Alice Walker's “The Color Purple” is the relationship between Celie and Shug. Even before Celie meets Shug she is envious of her; it just starts with word of mouth, then with a photo, until they finally meet. Shug represents everything that is frowned upon in patriarchal society. She is fatherless, sexually promiscuous, and a very talented singer. She is a strong, independent and free woman and for this reason she is marginalized by society. Walker writes: “It's about [Shug] a prostitute in short skirts, who smokes cigarettes and drinks gin. Singing for money and conquering other women. It's about a slut, a slut, a heifer and a street sweeper” (44). Shug represents the ultimate freedom for Celie, she is able to control Albert and is not owned or controlled by any man.