Rape as catalyst to epistolary discourse and womanist bonding: Alice Walker’s reconstructive strategy in The Color Purple

A patriarchal society employs several strategies to reinforce the pattern of domination and strengthen its grip on power. One of these strategies is rape, which serves as a weapon to terrorize and further subjugate women. A typical reading of any such an encounter between a male aggressor and a female entity entails the victimization of the latter, followed by her loss of bodily integrity and also subjectivity. This reading obviates the possibility of women’s resistance during and after the crime as it perpetuates men’s sexual domination and women’s vulnerability to violation as natural inevitable patterns. Nevertheless, recent feminist critics, including the American scholar Carine M. Mardorossian, reject the conventional view of women rape victims as passive and state that speaking out against the offence turns the individual victim into an active voiced agent who can not only survive the incident, but can also raise consciousness in the androcentric community and puncture the sociopolitical structure of power. Alice Walker’s The Color Purple is famous for its bold treatment of the controversial issues of rape and incest in the African American community. In line with Walker’s theory of womanism, the protagonist of the novel, constantly raped and silenced by her father and husband, transforms herself from a subservient victim into an assertive subject after establishing a meaningful discourse with other women. Through engaging in epistolary and face-to-face womanist communication, she manages to rid herself from the stigma of being a rape victim and after a while, plays the role of a savior for other oppressed women. This paper tries to analyze Walker’s deconstructive approach towards rape and shed light on the role of epistolary discourse and womanist bonding in helping the protagonist find her autonomy and voice.