For Celie, making pants is what sets her free. Making pants gives her independence, both financially and mentally. She’s able to sell her pants and earn a living which gives her the physical freedom of being able to support herself. She doesn’t have to depend on Albert anymore. The pants give her mental freedom in that they allow her to feel more powerful; pants were associated with masculinity when The Color Purple takes place, and the men in Celie’s life had always been in charge of her. Wearing pants lets her feel like she can be in charge like the men.
Celie’s pants also can be taken to represent the fact that Celie is the more masculine of the two in the relationship between Celie and Shug. Shug is the one who suggests that Celie make herself some pants, acknowledging that she is more feminine than Celie. Celie admires Shug’s beauty throughout the book and wishes she could look more like her. Celie may have taken offense at the suggestion that she wear pants if it had come from anyone other than Shug, but because it is from her, Celie is open to the idea and embraces the freedom that the pants give her.
I think that there was an internal shift the moment Celie began to make her first pair of pants. She may not have even realized it at the moment or acknowledged it as a change because it was subtle. Silent. After she found out that Albert had been hiding her letters, after reading them, and after experiencing a number of emotions, Celie became nearly despondent. She didn’t know whether to kill Albert or die instead. The pants were a reaction to the emotions. Instead of choosing defeat, Celie chose to move forward, to do something. Her first pair of pants was for her. It was a symbol of freedom. Of independence. The men in her life had only failed her, she must now shrug off their influence and depend on herself. After taking a “bird’s eye view” of the plot, I see this moment to be defining. A foreshadow of a new Celie that would arise later. As she became more independent and began to speak for herself, more and more pants were made. She moved away, beginning afresh. More pants. In the end, the pants became her form of livelihood. The very thing that had been a reaction to her limit of tolerance was the thing that empowered her in the end.
For Celie, making pants is what sets her free. Making pants gives her independence, both financially and mentally. She’s able to sell her pants and earn a living which gives her the physical freedom of being able to support herself. She doesn’t have to depend on Albert anymore. The pants give her mental freedom in that they allow her to feel more powerful; pants were associated with masculinity when The Color Purple takes place, and the men in Celie’s life had always been in charge of her. Wearing pants lets her feel like she can be in charge like the men.
ReplyDeleteCelie’s pants also can be taken to represent the fact that Celie is the more masculine of the two in the relationship between Celie and Shug. Shug is the one who suggests that Celie make herself some pants, acknowledging that she is more feminine than Celie. Celie admires Shug’s beauty throughout the book and wishes she could look more like her. Celie may have taken offense at the suggestion that she wear pants if it had come from anyone other than Shug, but because it is from her, Celie is open to the idea and embraces the freedom that the pants give her.
I think that there was an internal shift the moment Celie began to make her first pair of pants. She may not have even realized it at the moment or acknowledged it as a change because it was subtle. Silent. After she found out that Albert had been hiding her letters, after reading them, and after experiencing a number of emotions, Celie became nearly despondent. She didn’t know whether to kill Albert or die instead. The pants were a reaction to the emotions. Instead of choosing defeat, Celie chose to move forward, to do something. Her first pair of pants was for her. It was a symbol of freedom. Of independence. The men in her life had only failed her, she must now shrug off their influence and depend on herself. After taking a “bird’s eye view” of the plot, I see this moment to be defining. A foreshadow of a new Celie that would arise later. As she became more independent and began to speak for herself, more and more pants were made. She moved away, beginning afresh. More pants. In the end, the pants became her form of livelihood. The very thing that had been a reaction to her limit of tolerance was the thing that empowered her in the end.
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