The Color Purple Contents
- The Color Purple: Social and political context
- The Color Purple: Religious and philosophical context
- The Color Purple: Literary context
- Textual help
- Letter 1
- Letter 2
- Letter 3
- Letter 4
- Letter 5
- Letter 6
- Letter 7
- Letter 8
- Letter 9
- Letter 10
- Letter 11
- Letter 12
- Letter 13
- Letter 14
- Letter 15
- Letter 16
- Letter 17
- Letter 18
- Letter 19
- Letter 20
- Letter 21
- Letter 22
- Letter 23
- Letter 24
- Letter 25
- Letter 26
- Letter 27
- Letter 28
- Letter 29
- Letter 30
- Letter 31
- Letter 32
- Letter 33
- Letter 34
- Letter 35
- Letter 36
- Letter 37
- Letter 38
- Letter 39
- Letter 40
- Letter 41
- Letter 42
- Letter 43
- Letter 44
- Letter 45
- Letter 46
- Letter 47
- Letter 48
- Letter 49
- Letter 50
- Letter 51
- Letter 52
- Letter 53
- Letter 54
- Letter 55
- Letter 56
- Letter 57
- Letter 58
- Letter 59
- Letter 60
- Letter 61
- Letter 62
- Letter 63
- Letter 64
- Letter 65
- Letter 66
- Letter 67
- Letter 68
- Letter 69
- Letter 70
- Letter 71
- Letter 72
- Letter 73
- Letter 74
- Letter 75
- Letter 76
- Letter 77
- Letter 78
- Letter 79
- Letter 80
- Letter 81
- Letter 82
- Letter 83
- Letter 84
- Letter 85
- Letter 86
- Letter 87
- Letter 88
- Letter 89
- Letter 90
Letter 4
Synopsis of Letter 4
Alphonso marries again, this time to a girl of sixteen, the same age as Celie. The girl seems to like Alphonso despite his continuous sexual attentions but she, like Celie, is overwhelmed by the responsibilities of looking after her husband and a large number of dependent children.
Nettie has now attracted the attention of a middle-aged man, known only as Mr_ , a widower with three children, whose wife was killed by her lover, when coming home from church. Mr_ begins to visit Alphonso’s house every Sunday and Celie is worried that if Nettie consents to his offer of marriage, she will find herself in a difficult situation, looking after children who are not her own. Celie tells Nettie that education is more important and encourages her to study hard rather than submit to such a marriage.
Commentary on Letter 4
Celie has not, up to this point, used Alphonso’s name, usually referring to him in the third person, but in this letter she begins to call him Pa. It is not until letter 82 that Celie learns that Alphonso is not her father, but her stepfather.
This letter illustrates not only how young girls are sexually exploited by men, but also the injustice of young inexperienced wives being expected to take on the responsibilities of looking after large numbers of young children. Walker never underestimates what this involves and the negative effects that a life of unceasing drudgery and exhaustion has on these women.
The first mention of Mr_ (Albert), draws attention to the background of violence which runs through the narrative. The bald statement that Albert’s wife was killed by her boyfriend when coming home from church is a stark illustration of this.
Investigating Letter 4
- Throughout the novel, Walker questions religious beliefs and behaviour. On a blank piece of A4 create a table with the headings:
Letter No. / Religious ref. / Expectations / Actuality / Conclusions.
Fill it in with evidence as it occurs. For example:
No. Religious ref. Expectations Actuality Conclusions 4 Church attendance Moral values e.g. monogamy, respecting life (see Ten Commandments) Adultery, murder Demonstrates gulf between outward observance and actual behaviour
Keep this for future notes.
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