Deity, Distortion and Destruction: a Model of God in Alice Walker’s 'The Color Purple'.

What is it about?

This review article explores the presentation of God through a womanist perspective, explored through the eyes of 'The Colour Purple's' main protagonist, Celie. The article explores how a womanist theological viewpoint acquired by Celie through her life journey, accounts for her change in understanding the Creator God. Norma Gregory considers how the reader might understand the notion of God as distorted and destructive and whether 'alternative' or 'new' deities become reconciliatory and more accommodating, contextualised through Black feminism or black women.

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Why is it important?

A model or image of God in the epistolary novel, 'The Color Purple' is a truly disturbing and yet touching dedication to the female spirit and its search for equality, acceptance and independence. 'The Color Purple', written by the African American novelist and activist, Alice Walker (1944-), has been reprinted repeatedly since its publication in 1982. It quickly became an international bestseller, winning Walker the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1983. 2013 marks the thirtieth anniversary since The Color Purple was published in the UK (in 1983) by The Women’s Press, London.

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