Celie, is a 14 year old girl that lives with her father and sister in rural Georgia. She is a poor, uneducated black girl. She is the protagonist and narrator of The Color Purple. Her father beats and rapes her. Celie finds support by writing letters to God.
Mr. ______ doesn't treat Celie much better than her father did. As much as she wants to fight back at Mr. ______, she can't find the strength.
Shug becomes ill and Mr. ______ takes her into his house. The two women become friends as Celie takes charge of nursing Shug. And the feelings Celie had for Shug only become stronger and their relationship grows.
Shug and Celie find out that Mr. ______ hides away numerous letters that have arrived in the mail, which were from Nettie. Together they manage to get their hands on these letters. Overcome with emotion, Celie reads all the letters, wondering how to keep herself from killing Mr. ______.
At one point Celie, with support of Shug and other women, finally releases her anger by cursing Mr. ______ for his years of abuse. Shug announces that she and Celie are moving to Tennessee, and an other friend, who was also subjected to violence and inferiority, decides to go with them. In Tennessee, Celie can finally do the things she loves and most important she learns what it is like to have freedom. She even starts her own successful business.
When Celie returns to Georgia, she finds that Mr. ______ has reformed his ways and regrets the things he did in the past. She decides to move back to Georgia. She starts spending more time with Mr. _____ and they begin to genuinely enjoy each other’s company. Now independent financially, spiritually, and emotionally, Celie is a much stronger person and she knows what she stands for.
Her sister Nettie and Celie finally see each other after all those years. During the reunion with her sister, Celie notes that though she and Nettie are now old, she has never in her life felt younger.