The Phases of Feminism

E. Yvette Walters, author of Women and Literacy in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, describes the different types of feminism and the focus of each feministic group. She allows the reader to see how this information can be used to create five categories in which women can assess themselves and reality. The first category is silence. A woman in silence does not speak up for herself or view herself as a learner. Walters relates this to several instances in The Color Purple, when Celie dealt with devastating situations because she did not voice her opinion. Even when other women around her gave their input, Celie continued to put up with Mr. _____ and the problems he put her through because she believed that as long as she was alive, she was ok. Another category described was related to the knowledge received by a woman. Women in this stage of knowing typically understand how important language is, but do not possess confidence in their ability to verbalize it. These women rely on the information obtained by others and use it as validation on every aspect of their lives. An example that Walters gave of this was when she explained how Celie stated that she was not dumb. Celie did not believe this because of the information that she knew about herself, but because her sister Nettie told her that she was smart.

The quest for self was another category used to describe a stage of knowing in which women are obsessed with either choosing or losing themselves. They have created boundaries for themselves and others as well as generalized negative attitudes towards specific groups of people. The author makes a reference to the point in The Color Purple when Celie begins to become very pessimistic about God and adds him to the generalization that she has already created towards men. On the other hand, women in the voice of reason stage are very careful to make informed and carefully planned decisions. They form opinions and analyze situations. The point of the book in which Celie possesses this type of knowing is when she decided that she needed God even though he appeared not to treat her favorably during her life. Last is the stage of integrating the voices. During this stage, women reclaim themselves due to the knowledge gained from their inner selves and others. Celie shows this when she states that she is satisfied being by herself. She does not need anyone to validate her or to make her happy.

Can a woman go through these stages cyclically? “In life and literature, women cycle through recursive phases of knowing” (144). I believe that going through phases of literacy is important for a woman to mature. There are times in which learning is important and certain stages allow for that more than others. However, there are times when it is vital for a woman to stand up for herself and her beliefs. The first stages of knowing probably occur during times when women are unacknowledged in certain situations whereas the last stages occur more when women have been exposed to predicaments prior to actually being in them. Either way, these stages create growth and maturity. Women should not continuously go through this cycle for the same problem, it should be a learning process.