The Color Purple
(Alice Walker)

Celie

The narrator of the novel, though rather than telling the story she writes letters. Celie was abused sexually by her stepfather Alphonso, given to a man named Mr. _____ to marry, and is separated from her sister, Nettie, for many years.

Celie has two children with Alphonso: Olivia and Adam, though she does not even know they are alive for many years. She is poor and uneducated and lives through much abuse. She befriends and has an intimate relationship with Shug Avery and becomes a stronger woman who stands up for herself against those who have abused her.

Nettie

Celie’s younger sister whom Celie loves very much. Mr. _____ wants to marry Nettie at first, though Alphonso refuses to allow it and he ends up marrying Celie. Nettie runs away to live with Celie and Mr. _____ for a time but when Mr. _____ makes advances toward her she leaves, not to be heard from for many years.

She meets missionaries named Samuel and Corrine and moves with them to Africa. She writes Celie many letters, though Celie never gets them and paints a picture of Africa for the novel. She cares for Samuel’s and Corrine’s adopted children, Adam and Olivia, later learning that they are Celie’s biological children, and marries Samuel when Corrine dies.

Alphonso

The man whom Celie and Nettie believe to be their father for many years (“Pa”), only later learning that he was, in fact, their step-father rather than their biological father. He favored Nettie, the younger, prettier, daughter over Celie, though Celie is the one he sexually abused.

He is the father of Adam and Olivia, with Celie, though he sold them right after Celie gave birth to them. Alphonso never reforms himself into a decent human being, dying an abuser. When he dies, he leaves his house and property to Celie.

Mr. _____

His real name is Albert, though throughout the novel he is referred to as Mr. _____. He is Celie’s husband and he abuses her for a very long time. He originally wanted to marry Nettie, but when Alphonso refused he decided to marry Celie instead. Mr. _____ has a son named Harpo, whom he encourages to assert dominance over his wife, Sofia.

He has feelings for Shug, though he is married to Celie and he hides the letters Nettie sends to Celie from African, leading Celie to believe Nettie is dead. Later in life Mr. _____ transforms himself and feels great guilt for the person he was in the past, and he and Celie eventually form a friendship.

Shug Avery

A blues singer who Celie meets through Mr. _____, who is in love with her and has taken her as his mistress. Shug and Celie do not get along at first, though eventually they become best of friends. Shug and Celie develop a strong friendship that turns into an intimate relationship and Shug teaches Celie how to become a self-confident, independent woman.

She makes Celie feel comfortable, and like she is worth something for the first time in her life and Celie has a very strong love for her because of the gentle way in which she helped to come into her own.

Harpo

Harpo is Mr. _____’s son and the husband of Sofia. Mr. _____ often berates Harpo for looking like less of a man when he allows Sofia to speak her mind. He is very atypical in terms of gender stereotypes because he cries, he likes to do housework, he loves his independent wife, and he kisses his children, all of which are things that supposedly make one less manly.

Harpo attempts, at the encouragement of his father, to physically abuse Sofia, but he fails because she is stronger than he is. Eventually, Harpo realizes the error of his ways and reforms himself and repairs his marriage to Sofia.

Sofia

Harpo’s independent, outspoken wife. She is a good friend of Celie’s and will not allow anyone to assert their dominance over her, especially whites or men. The mayor tries to hire her to be his maid, to which Sofia says, “hell no”, and thus she is arrested and forced to do it anyway for a term of twelve years, in lieu of going to jail.

With this punishment, Sofia realizes why people must not resist those in higher position, or try to single-handedly stop racism, because she endures many hardships over those twelve years.

Corrine

One of the missionaries Nettie befriends and moves to Africa with. She is the adoptive mother of Adam and Olivia, Celie’s biological children, unbeknownst to anyone. Corrine notices that Nettie resembles her children very much and begins to resent her. She believes that Nettie is having too close a role in their family and thinks that Nettie and Samuel have had an affair. While Corrine, Samuel, Nettie, Adam, and Olivia are still living in Africa, Corrine gets sick and dies. As Corrine expects, Samuel and Nettie get married soon after.

Samuel

The other missionary that Nettie befriends and moves to Africa with. He is married to Corrine at first and later to Nettie. He is the adoptive father of Adam and Olivia, who are Celie’s biological children though no one knows that Nettie is actually related to them.

Samuel is a priest and a very strong black man who makes it his mission to lift the spirits of African Americans all over the world. Samuel takes his family and Nettie to Africa to do missionary work and becomes very close with Nettie.

He tells Nettie a story that informs her that Alphonso is not her biological father, but her stepfather. After Corrine’s death, Samuel and Nettie marry.

Squeak

Squeak is a woman who becomes Harpo’s lover after Sofia has left him. Squeak is mulatto and thus suffers many of the hardships that other blacks do, even though she is half white. Mulattos were in some cases discriminated against worse than blacks because they were the product of a mixed race relationship.

Squeak is abused just as badly as the other women in the story and eventually, like Celie, becomes a stronger woman who stands up for herself. Once asserting her independence, Squeak insists on being called by her real name, Mary Agnes, and decides that she wants to be a singer.

Adam

The biological son of Celie and Alphonso who was sold by Alphonso right after his birth. He was adopted by Samuel and Corrine and eventually cared for by Nettie, who is actually his aunt.

Adam falls in love with an Olinka girl in Africa named Tashi, and they get married. Adam has a great deal of respect for Tashi and considers her his equal, going against the patriarchal ideals of most other men in the novel. Adam’s marriage to an African girl connects Africa and America in the novel and in Celie’s mind.

Tashi

Tashi is from the Olinka Village in Africa and is married to Adam. Tashi is very tradition and embraces African culture. She is anti-imperialism and colonization. She is very against white power and the dominance and abuse inflicted by white men against African Americans.

She decides to stay true to her African culture, as a means of differentiating herself physically from other cultures, by undergoing facial mutilation and female circumcision. These are common practices in African culture and set them apart from the rest of the world. Adam also undergoes facial mutilation with Tashi.

Olivia

The biological daughter of Celie and Alphonso, the adopted daughter of Corrine and Samuel, and the sister of Adam. When the family moves to Africa, Olivia becomes very close friends with an Olinka girl named Tashi.

Eventually, Tashi marries Olivia’s brother Adam and the two become sisters-in-law. Tashi’s and Olivia’s friendship shows the strength of bonds between women and also shows that though people are of different cultural backgrounds, they can still develop a close tie to one another.

Miss Millie

Miss Millie is the mayor’s wife and the reason that Sofia was asked to be their maid. Miss Millie saw how well kept Sofia’s children were and wished to have her as her maid.

Miss Millie is very racist and speaks down to people, thinking she is on a high horse. When Sofia says “hell no” to the request to be their maid, Miss Millie has her arrested. Instead of going to jail, Sofia is sentenced to twelve years as Miss Millie’s maid.

Eleanor Jane

The daughter of the mayor and Miss Millie. Eleanor Jane feels very close to Sofia and considers her a friend she would like to come to when she needs emotional support, but Sofia finds it hard to be close to Eleanor Jane because she was treated very poorly by the mayor and Miss Millie for the years she worked for them.

Eleanor Jane does not, at first, understand the struggles and abuse that African Americans have faced, but as she gets older realizes the injustice of it. Eleanor Jane cares for Sofia’s daughter, Henrietta, as a sort of penance for what Sofia has gone through.