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Celie has trouble sleeping after instructing Harpo to beat Sofia.
Afraid of the consequences she prays in vain that Sofia will not find out,
which she does. Sofia appears at the door of the house, angry and
betrayed. Celie yields after first denying the accusation. She tells Sofia
that she is jealous of her strength and ability to fight back. Sofia
discloses her time as an oppressed woman in a family of dominant men, and
the two begin quilting together while talking about Celie’s unfulfilling
life with Mr. _______.
Meanwhile Shug Avery is unwell, and is being condemned by the people who later pretend to love her. Even the church goes against its principle of "love thy neighbour" and instead reproaches her, the preacher even making light of her condition in his sermon. The same women who reprove her in church also fail to help Celie while at the same time looking lustfully at Mr. _______. In response to this, Mr. _______ fetches Shug Avery and she arrives still flamboyantly dressed at the house. At the same time, we see Celie, conscious of her outward appearance, run to greet her. She is greeted back by the words "You sure is ugly."
Once in the house Mr. _______ tends to Shug day and night, though he hardly appreciates it. She teases him for his weakness in not resisting his father previously and calls him Albert, the first time we hear his real name. From here on in Albert becomes a more sympathetic and understanding character, shedding a tear for Shug while still defying Celie. We soon learn that Albert and Shug had three children though Albert is afraid of giving her a bath. Celie becomes involved and acts as a parent towards the ill blues singer. She even is able to tempt her to eat, though not before Shug rejects Celie’s offer of "ham, grits, biscuits" and "flapjacks."
It does not take long for Shug and Celie’s friendship to mature. Both give and take; Shug Avery hums a tune that Celie drew from her mind, while Celie tends to her as one of her children, fixing her hair and bathing her. Soon Mr. _______’s father - a presumptuous and proud small man appears to scold his son. While he reproaches his son for his long running affair with Shug, Celie sticks up for her, by spitting in his glass of water. While Albert and Celie have a common bond in their love for Shug Avery, Tobias, a tall foolish man, Mr. _______’s brother is next to visit. While he is there, the Queen Honeybee appears and she and Celie sew while Tobias and Mr. _______ talk about women.
While Sofia and Celie quilt together, Sofia asks Celie why people eat. It turns out that Harpo is over-eating, and Celie thinks it may be to do with his domestic role. Sofia replies in the negative affirming that housekeeping seems natural to Harpo. Harpo appears at the house and stuffs himself on fatty food to Celie’s amazement. Celie soon realises that Harpo wants to match Sofia’s physically powerful stature. At the same time, Harpo is still being rewarded with blacked eyes from Sofia for attempting this. Celie reminds Harpo that Sofia loves him, and that some women will not be over-ruled like she is in her relationship with Mr. _______. Meanwhile Sofia intends to leave Harpo, for he is beginning to become obsessed with ruling her. Sofia proposes to herself that she may take refuge at her sister Odessa’s house and plans to leave.
Written by Matthew Kane [2001]
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