Purple combines the calm stability of blue and the fierce energy of red. Hence, the color so aptly describes the story. The story presents the calmness & patience of Nettie & Celie in particular & the fierce obsolete thoughts of degraded people towards others. They call it discrimination, well, it's sheer foolishness, nothing less or more.
How can someone be so foolish as to oppress his kin? Wait, did I say kin? Okay, so maybe it is a story about abuse & ill-treatment of one's family. Close, yes it is but not entirely. Isn't the person who brought coffee for you when you were busy at a business conference in a foreign land related to you? Oh, please not again with the same preaching of those dead holy books, All for One & One for All. That's the point they all held their 'holy books' proudly & still divided people based on caste, creed, religion, sex, color, shape, region & the list goes on. And seriously, what's this obsession with sex? Did people lack sex education from time immemorial? It seems so.
The setting is when the majority of the world was under British rule. Some people, because of their geographical location, had a fair complexion with okay physical attributes & above okay intelligence. These people self-proclaimed themselves as the descendants of God held their holy books, & started their journey to turn the world into heaven by turning others into their slaves. The story encompasses the greed & foolishness of such people towards the colored community. It also questions the patriarchal God & his society.
Okay, let's start with a simple question. From where are all of us born? Don't think much; it's a mother's womb. Yes, you already knew it. Now each & every person is born into this world from a woman. I find it difficult to understand & maybe you can help me; after realizing the above fact, how can anyone think lesser of a woman? If you are born of a lesser human then you are less than that human, isn't it? The story throws light on this basic logicality too.
The format of the story is unique of its kind. The entire plot is in letters. Initially, the letters were addressed to God. We can all relate to this basic human tendency; when any one of us is lonely, we talk to our Gods, that's exactly what the protagonist does. Then the letters present the conversation between Celie (the protagonist) & her sister Nettie. Celie represents those women who feel powerless in the patriarchal society, whereas Nettie represents the bold women who fight & live by their rules. As the plot develops, Celie, with the help of her friend, understands the perspective of her sister & stands for herself.
Some of the interesting perspectives from the story:
● Celie, who experiences reluctant sex, still considers herself a virgin. Hence not being a virgin isn't a physical manifestation but an emotional one.
● The revelation that Nature is God. This basic fact that God is of no gender but is universal is profound.
Overall, the story is insightful & presents the struggle of women & the colored community in a raw state. It's a must-read for all to understand how low humans can stoop &, at the same time, during difficult phases of life, how all of us have the power to figure our way out.
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