“The Color Purple” - a remarkable work about the struggle for feminism

When mentioning the world's outstanding literary works about the struggle and protection of women's rights in recent decades, few people fail to mention the novel "The Color Purple" (original English name is "The Color Purple") by American female writer Alice Walker. It is a work that was highly appreciated by the world when it was first published (in 1982), and in 1983, along with the prestigious Pulitzer Prize of the United States, the book continued to receive the National Book Award of this country for fiction. Not only that, 2 years later, director Steven Spielberg adapted the book into a movie, and the movie received 11 Oscar nominations. BBC News once commented that the novel "The Color Purple" is "one of the most influential works of all time"; and the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper affirmed: "This work will forever be important, regardless of the era or country". In our country, it was not until February 2024 that “Purple” was published by Women’s Publishing House through the Vietnamese translation of translator Tran Nguyen. Although late, the work was quickly welcomed by readers across the country because of its appeal.

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The main character of the novel “The Color Purple” is a black girl named Celie (African American). At the age of 14, when her mother fell ill and had to go far away for treatment, she was abused and raped by her stepfather Alphonso, and as a child she became pregnant and gave birth twice. Not only that, the stepfather lied that the two children had died and secretly took them away, then one day he tricked her into marrying a widower named Albert, who was also rude and aggressive. It can be said that being scolded, humiliated, beaten, sexually abused…, Celie’s life continued to be full of suffering and unhappiness. Because of the idea of ​​​​having to accept her fate, Celie gritted her teeth and endured. Until one day, when she came into contact with and became close to Shug Avery, a singer who was her husband’s lover, the black girl awakened, had a new perspective on life and bravely fought against evil and ugliness.

Structured in the form of Celie's letters to God, as well as letters between her and her sister Nettie, the novel "The Color Purple" is quite vivid with a broad reflection. In particular, the book frankly brings up issues that are often hidden so as not to affect old misconceptions and dogmas, including religious questioning, racism and social inequality, sexual abuse and assault... Not only exposing the uncivilized aspects of human beings, the book also sends readers the message: It is never too late to change, including fighting violence and assault against women and children.

Although Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" was translated and introduced in our country later than in many other countries in the world, in addition to accessing a famous literary work, the content of the book will help readers better understand and be responsible for contributing to the fight to protect women's rights in general, and the fight to prevent violence and abuse against women and children in particular.

HAI NHU

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/202410/mau-tim-tac-pham-dac-sac-ve-dau-tranh-cho-nu-quyen-ca65a88/