The moment Celie is freed from her oppressive marriage full of lies, abuse and neglect she begins to wear and to make pants. Pants are her freedom, women do not wear pants but she does. The pants act as a symbol of liberation from sexism. All of her life Celie has been under the thumb of every man in her life. Her Pa sexually abuses her and then gets rid of her as soon as he can to a man who doesn’t love her. Her husband makes demands of her even though he doesn’t care for her. Celie has never been loved. She makes the pants to prove that she is free and she is no longer a victim. She wears the pants to prove her bravery and her newfound confidence in herself.
The pants can represent economic liberation. Celie’s pregnancy kept her from completing school. This made her illiterate and many people considered her stupid. Being a black woman without an education makes it impossible to find work. Celie makes pants to break this hold over herself concerning her future. Everyone claimed that she become nothing. However, by the end of the story she becomes a person rather than a suppressed woman, free from gender stereotypes and free from the suppression of the people around her. Celie is free.
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