Black Women's Liberation In The Color Purple: A Womanist Perspective

As a womanist in the contemporary America, Alice Walker reveals the startlingly tragic situations of the black women in her famous novel, The Color Purple. The black women in the novel suffer double oppressions of sexism and racism from both the black men and the white people. However, the black women do not submit to their destinies. Once they know of their status, they begin to take action and struggle for their own liberation. Their ways to liberation also forms lots of elements of Alice Walker's womanism, which is defined as black feminism or feminism of the color. This thesis is devoted, on the one hand, to interpreting the womanist ways of liberation of the black women in the novel; and on the other hand, to a brief analysis of the thematic concerns, for example, the relation between economic independence and black women's liberation, as represented in her great work, The Color Purple.The thesis is divided into three chapters. In the first chapter, Alice Walker's womanism is interpreted as the theoretical basis of the thesis. As the background of womanism, feminism in America is introduced first, which facilitates the understanding of the origin of womanism. Then the thesis goes to womanism directly. In her book, In Search of Our Mothers'Gardens: Womanist Prose, Alice Walker listed the four characteristics of womanist. The thesis will interpret the four characteristics one by one.In the second chapter, the thesis focuses on the double oppressions on the black women in the novel. First, the sexual and violent oppression on the black women from the black men is discussed. The racial oppression on the black women from the white people is the topic of the second part.The third chapter is the main part of the thesis. It expounds the black women's fighting back to achieve their liberation and the womanist elements in their action in three parts. The first part analyzes the process of the black women's awakening of sex, spirit and identity. Their awakening is the beginning for their liberation. The second part focuses on the black women's fighting against the black men's oppression. In their ways to end the oppression from black men, the sisterhood is their weapons and the economic and spiritual independence is the guarantee for their future life. Finally, they gain their liberation and their liberation also changes the black men who used to be the oppressors. The black men subsequently become the black women's companies in their fight against the white people to end the racial oppression, which is the main concern of the third part.In their process of searching for liberation, the black women in the novel have become womanists. They not only fight for their own freedom and liberation, but also fight for the black sisters who are still being oppressed. They are the hope of the black community. They will continue to fight for all the black people, male and female. And one day, the womanists'hope to end the forms of oppression will come true.