The characters are largely aware of the cyclical nature
of harmful behavior. For instance, Sofia tells Eleanor Jane that
societal influence makes it almost inevitable that her baby boy
will grow up to be a racist. Only by forcefully talking back to
the men who abuse them and showing them a new way of doing things
do the women of the novel break these cycles of sexism and violence,
causing the men who abused them to stop and reexamine their ways.
The Disruption of Traditional Gender Roles
Many characters in the novel break the boundaries of traditional male
or female gender roles. Sofia’s strength and sass, Shug’s sexual assertiveness,
and Harpo’s insecurity are major examples of such disparity between
a character’s gender and the traits he or she displays. This blurring
of gender traits and roles sometimes involves sexual ambiguity,
as we see in the sexual relationship that develops between Celie
and Shug.
Disruption of gender roles sometimes causes problems.
Harpo’s insecurity about his masculinity leads to marital problems
and his attempts to beat Sofia. Likewise, Shug’s confident sexuality
and resistance to male domination cause her to be labeled a tramp. Throughout
the novel, Walker wishes to emphasize that gender and sexuality
are not as simple as we may believe. Her novel subverts and defies
the traditional ways in which we understand women to be women and
men to be men.
