A Study of Identity Crisis and Oppression of Black Women with reference to the Protagonist ‘Celie’ in ‘The Colour Purple’ by Alice Walker

Yogesh Suresh Dambale

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.87233

A Study of Identity Crisis and Oppression of Black Women with reference to the Protagonist ‘Celie’ in ‘The Colour Purple’ by Alice Walker

Author(s)	Mr. Yogesh Suresh Dambale
Country	India
Abstract	Identity Crisis is one of the highlighted issues today. Identity is of various types; self, cultural, social, racial and gender, class etc. Blacks particularly, black women have been made victims by the white men and women as well as black men in their own race. The injustice has been found in multiple identities in black women. The gender, racial and class identities have been oppressed by the dominant male and female societies. The black women have to fight with some issues like; sexism, racism and classism. Every black woman experiences a same kind of injustice even from her own race’s black men. One of the great voices of voiceless and suppressed black female society, Alice Walker writes and revolts about the injustice of black women. There is the touch of cry and sense of revolt against the established patriarchal and dominant black faces, in her works. There are various questions unsolved like food, shelter and cloth; are kept permanently unsolved that whites do have. In this paper, I am going to highlight the points of injustice that intentionally and unintentionally burdened over the black females in African American society. Sexism is a kind of attitude that male gender is superior and female is inferior. In patriarchy, it is believed that women are secondary, lower and weaker. Women are the parts of kitchen and bedroom duties that have to obey the rules of patriarchal society. They should follow disciplines, all the rules and regulations and if they don’t, then they would be punished in various ways. Women stay lower and they do not have the right to take better education, she should always be an illiterate person that always do her duties related to their children. Her duty is to nurse her children and it is strictly followed by most of the women in most of the societies. This idealistic view is loaded on women by the society, of following the instructions of her family member from childhood, husband in youth and her children in her old age. Insecurity of black women and their worst condition about injustice is found in Alice Walker’s works. In ‘The Color Purple’ Walker talks about the injustice on black women and about their identity crisis. She has highlighted the issues like double and triple operation; gender, race and class. In the present paper, I am going to highlight the points of oppression and injustice over the black females by the whites and result of oppression. The critical lenses of the Alice Walker and her ‘The Color Purple’ reveals the dark side of white supremacy that results in injustice related to the black females. This paper also reveals how Alice Walker makes revolt against the White Supremacy and wins over the injustice.
Keywords	Identity Crisis, Identity Fight, Double and Triple Oppression- Gender, Race, Class
Field	Sociology > Linguistic / Literature
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-09-06
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.87233

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A Study of Identity Crisis and Oppression of Black Women with reference to the Protagonist ‘Celie’ in ‘The Colour Purple’ by Alice Walker

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