The Silent Woman

“Silent women, do not view themselves as learners at all” (Belenky et al., 986). In the story “The Color Purple”, the main character Celie, was considered a silent woman. Celie was abused physically, emotionally, sexually, and psychologically. Being abused by only the men in her life, she grew to hate men. At one point, she even described God as a man, so she did not trust him either.

While reading, “Women and Literacy”, I became familiar with the, “Subjective Women”. A subjective woman has negative attitudes toward specific men in their past which becomes generalized to all men, whom they perceive as controlling demanding, negating, and life suppressing. Eventually, their attitude becomes, “I can do it without men” (Belenky et al., 1986).

After hearing the statement, “I can do it without men”, I began to think about how some Black women in the media today are portrayed with this state of mind. I have personally heard grown women say those exact same words. In the story of, “The Color Purple”, Celie trusted no man, not even God. So as of a result, she stopped praying, and started to write to her long-lost sister, Nettie. Celie began to use her writing skills which were taught by her sister, Nettie, about her struggle of a lifestyle with Mr. ____.

Being enrolled in English this semester, I have just noticed how much of a large role literature, writing, and literacy played in the story of, “The Color Purple”. Silent women are voiceless and selfless, Celie had to write in order to express all of the feelings she had while living with Mr.___. It was good to know that Celie had developed a sense of love and confidence for herself at the end of the story. “Celie has come to accept all that she is or is not, knowing that being whoever she is surely is more than enough” (Walters, 142).