The Color Purple / The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker

Shug stays when she learns that Mister beats Celie when she is away. Several months later, Harpo opens a juke joint where a fully recovered Shug performs nightly. While Shug is initially rude to Celie, who is nursing her, the two become friends, and Celie becomes infatuated with Shug.įrustrated by Harpo's domineering behavior, Sofia moves out, taking her children with her. Mister's father disapproves of the arrangement, reminding Mister that Shug has three out-of-wedlock children, though Mister implies that he is those children's father, upon which Mister's father leaves in disgust. Celie, fascinated by photos of Shug that she found in Mister's belongings, is thrilled to have her there. Mister takes in Shug Avery, a jazz and blues singer and Mister's long-time mistress, during an illness. Sofia fights back and confronts Celie, who apologizes and confides in her about Mister's abuse. In a moment of envy, Celie tells Harpo to beat Sofia. Celie is impressed by Sofia's self-esteem and asks Harpo to treat her well, but Mister chides him for what he considers weakness. Mister's son Harpo falls in love with an assertive girl named Sofia, gets her pregnant and marries her. Nettie promises to write but never does, and Celie concludes that she is dead. Celie tells her to seek help from a well-dressed black woman she saw in town. Nettie runs away and stays with Celie, but Mister makes advances toward her. Mister abuses Celie physically, sexually and verbally, and his prior children mistreat her as well. A farmer identified as 'Mister' asks to marry her younger sister Nettie, and Alphonso gives him Celie instead.

She writes letters to God because her father Alphonso beats and rapes her, resulting in two children, Olivia and Adam, that he abducts.

( December 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ĭelie is a poor 14-year-old African-American girl living in rural Georgia in the early 1900s. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.

The Color Purple / The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker