Women Reconstructing their Lives under Patriarchy in The Color Purple

The paper examines how women in The Color Purple reconstruct their identities in spite of the opposing force from the males in the novel. It also focuses on the way Walker disrupts the typical image of men as protectors, saviours, and sources of knowledge. Traditional and stereotypical gender roles are questioned and destabilized through the presentation of a new alternative that liberates women and men alike. As opposed to Dixon s view that men have contributed to Celie s development and growth, this paper argues that it is the men in her life who have destroyed her well-being. In addition, it sheds light on women’s positive role in restoring the confidence, dignity, and knowledge she was deprived of by her male counterparts and building a new world where there is room for both, women as well as men.