In the first half of the book, Celie is anything but a hero. She is merely getting by, doing what is expected of her. She has not defied any rules, made a difference, found happiness. Her marriage is empty, as Garrison points out. She is abused and feels she has no worth. When her stepfather marries her off, she is sold like livestock; “She ugly...But she ain’t no stranger to hard work. And she clean.” (8) As Amanda says, she is living in a bubble. She does not know what is normal. “All I know how to do is stay alive,” (17) she says. She has never been exposed to a healthy relationship, never even seen love. She did not understand human emotions because she feels only fear.

Women’s roles?

Changes start happening when Celie talks to other women, forming friendships and bonds. She learns from Sofia that women can be strong and independent, though at first she resents this characteristic of Sofia. Sofia isn’t “normal” to her. She is not docile, weaker than her husband. Harpo thinks “ the wife spose to mind,” (63). So Celie tells Harpo he needs to beat Sofia to control her. Soon, however, Sofia proves her strength and her worth and Celie finally understands. Just because she is a woman, a wife, a “mother,” she is still a person. Thus she begins questioning her life.

Shug is almost Celie’s polar opposite. When she arrives, she is anything but a wife. She is a lover, passionate, beautiful, frivolous. She doesn’t work, she just plays. However, she and Celie are both able to learn from each other. Shug pushes Celie to finally find happiness, to reunite with her sister, and to find love. Celie teaches Shug to be compassionate by caring for her and nursing her back to health. The women form an unlikely bond.

Finding Compassion

These friendships Celie forms help her escape from her life of oppression. She finds strength and independence in herself. She finally learns to be free.