CHAPTER SUMMARY AND NOTES

CHAPTER 68

Summary

In this letter, Celie again writes to God. She thinks that God must be asleep now that she has finally found out the truth: "My daddy lynch. My mama crazy. All my little half-brothers and sisters no kin to me. My children not my sister and brother. Pa not pa."

Notes

At the revolutionary news that Fonso is not her father, the narrative returns to Celie. In this brief letter, she states that God must be asleep, changing her previously mild tone from confessional to accusatory. Celie is upset because all these years she has written to God, revealing that she suffers under the delusion of her own identity and her children's biological father. She cannot understand why God has waited so long to reveal the truth to her.

Although Celie is released from the guilt she has felt over her children being the product of an incestuous situation, she is shaken by the heinous news of her real father's lynching at the hands of the white townspeople, as well as her mother's mental illness. Celie wonders if God may be part of her problem, rather than the solution to her ills. Celie must now begin from the bottom up to reconstruct her concept of family and God.

CHAPTER 69

Summary

Celie writes to Nettie and tells her that this is the first time she has wanted to see Fonso. She and Shug dress in their matching floral pants and drive to see her stepfather. They arrive at a fancy two- story house, and Celie thinks it is the wrong address until she sees a particular fig tree. Then, a motorcar pulls up behind them, and Fonso and Daisy, Fonso's fifteen-year-old girlfriend, get out of the car and invite them to the porch.

Daisy's parents work for Fonso, who is now running the store in town that Celie's real father used to own. He talks about how he must pay-off the "white folks" to keep what he has. Celie tells him that Nettie is in Africa and has found out that Fonso is not their real Pa. A conversation ensues which reveals how differently Daisy sees the situation from Celie and Shug. Daisy thinks highly of Fonso for raising two girls that were not his own. He tries to be modest before Daisy and says that "any man would have done what I done." Shug says, "maybe not," indicating to him that she knows the whole story. Celie asks about May Ellen's children, and he says that she left and took the children with her.

Celie says that the only thing she wants from Fonso is to know where her real Pa is buried. He tells her that he is next to her mother, but neither have markers. Shug and Celie go to the cemetery and cannot find the graves. They pick up a horseshoe and both hold onto it as they spin in circles. Where they stop, they plant the horseshoe. Shug tells Celie, "Us each other's peoples now." Then she kisses her.

Notes

Celie now addresses her letter to Nettie instead of God, with whom she is disillusioned. She also shows a newfound strength when she confronts Fonso, her stepfather, about the truth; it is a positive sign that she is beyond her submissive, passive state. It is also significant that this new Celie comes to life in the spring; the flowers and trees are blossoming, just as Celie is. In keeping with the spring and Celie's new sense of self, Shug and Celie have dressed in flowery pants, similar in style but different colors. The similarity represents the bond between the two women, which they now feel comfortable displaying; the wearing of pants indicate that they are independent.

In most ways, Fonso has changed little. He is still interested in young women, using them and then abandoning them; it is obvious that he still operates under the patriarchal system. Additionally, he still has no sensitivity. He is not the least bit remorseful about Celie's parents, about what he has done to Celie, or that he is never told either of his daughters the truth about being their stepfather.

There are some new things revealed about Fonso. He has successfully run the store that belonged to Celie's father; he has literally seized the store, which rightfully belongs to Nettie and Celie. Because of the business, he now lives in a nice two-story house and drives a motorcar. He is, however, seen almost as an "Uncle Tom" figure, a Black who panders to Whites. In order to have a profitable business, he will do anything for them. He even denounces Celie's father for not previously catering to white people in the store.

With Nettie in Africa and her parents buried in unmarked graves that she cannot find, Celie feels abandoned by her family. Shug, however, provides a new type of relationship for her, being a friend, confidante, teacher, encourager, and lover. They become symbolic family in a playful ceremony with the horseshoe, staking their claim in each other.

Table of Contents | Downloadable/Printable Version