THE QUEST FOR SELF-DETERMINATION AND INDIVIDUALITY: A BLACK FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF WALKER’S THE COLOR PURPLE

Abstract

This study explores women's emancipation in Alice Walker's The Color Purple through the analytical framework of Black feminist theory. Central to the novel is the journey of Celie, a Black woman navigating the intersecting oppressions of racism, patriarchy, poverty, and illiteracy in the early twentieth-century American South. Utilizing the theoretical insights of Patricia Hill Collins, bell hooks, Angela Davis, and Kimberlé Crenshaw, the research critically examines how these layered structures of domination shape and constrain Celie’s identity, voice, and agency. The study identifies key challenges faced by Celie-sexual and domestic violence, psychological silencing, and economic exploitation suggesting that these are systemic manifestations of a “matrix of domination.” Her eventual resistance and empowerment are catalyzed by pivotal relationships with women such as Shug Avery and Nettie, underscoring the role of sisterhood and solidarity in the Black feminist traditions. The current study emphasizes the transformative role of literacy, narrative, and creative expression in Celie’s self-actualization. It contributes to ongoing discourses on Black women’s liberation by illustrating how personal transformation and collective solidarity challenge systemic injustice.