Metamorphosis And Metaphysics Of The Body A Feminist Bildungsroman In The Color Purple

The Color Purple, written by the renowned African American novelist Alice Walker is an unsparing literary effort and feminist achievement. It portrays the transformation of the female character Celie in her painful awakening and unflagging quest for selfhood. By adopting M. Foucault’s body theory, this thesis will zero in on the transformation of Celie and concomitant power relationship in her immediate milieu as well as the society at large. By treating power as both repressive and productive, Foucauldian perspective of gender relationship calls for the self-awareness and body performativity on the part of the female before the culture uprooting of the phallogocentric system. This thesis intends to provide an in-depth analysis on female autonomy and power through dissecting the developmental stages of the heroine according to feminist Bildungsroman tradition. It aims to deconstruct the psychological and culture tensions concerning womanhood and explore the true source of empowerment for women.