A Study Of The Construction Of Female Identity In The Color Purple From The Perspective Of Gender Performativity

As an outstanding black female writer and one of the representative feminists in the second-wave feminism in America,Alice Walker shows much concern for the growth of Afro-American females.The Color Purple,her masterpiece,records the growing process of a poor rural black female named Celie,who firstly commits to the performance of stereotypical gender norms,then deconstructs her traditional gender role,and finally reconstructs a totally new female identity.In a sense,the construction of Celie’s female identity is featured by performativity.The thesis aims to analyze The Color Purple from the perspective of gender performativity of Judith Butler.After making an introduction,the thesis probes into the process of the construction of Celie’s female identity from three dimensions.Chapter Two focuses on discourse dimension.Celie used to be a stereotypical housewife under the patriarchal discourse system.To some extent,her female identity is unconsciously constructed by her imitation and performance of the traditional gender norms.Thus,the deconstruction of Celie’s traditional gender role starts with the rejection of being interpellated as an object.Celie achieves the dissolution of patriarchal discourse system by the way of resisting against the interpellation of authorities.Chapter Three analyzes the construction of Celie’s female identity in body dimension.Black women’s bodies have always been disciplined by male-dominated society.In a long time,Celie’s body is trained tame and obedient,which is completely materialized as a labor machine for her step-father and husband.Owing to the enlightenment of Shug,Celie discovers the beauty of her own body and confronts her sexuality.Meanwhile,her female consciousness is gradually awakening.Chapter Four researches the construction of Celie’s female identity in rite dimension.In The Color Purple,Walker deconstructs the binary opposition of gender through her depiction of homosexual love between Celie and Shug.In the meantime,the novel highlights the importance of sisterhood during the construction of black female identity.In the final chapter,the conclusion is drawn that black women have chances to combat the pressure imposed on them by gender norms by the way of performing new female identities.By describing the way how Celie gains her female consciousness,Alice Walker calls for defiance of black women who are under double oppression of racial and gender discrimination.Employing the theory of performativity,the thesis aims to interpret The Color Purple from a new perspective and provide a deeper understanding of racial and gender problems in America.