Comparing the Struggle Depicted in The Color Purple and Desiree’s Baby

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The Struggle as Depicted in The Color Purple and Desiree’s Baby

The Color Purple written by Alice Walker and Kate Chopin’s Desiree’s Baby, were written during different times periods yet there are many similarities on how the women struggled. Both stories depict women who experienced hardship, and through out it all they continued to show unconditional love. In the two stories they have instances dealing with children that are quite similar. It goes to show that novels can span totally different time periods and still could discuss the same things.

The unconditional love within families can be enough at times to keep people going during the hard times that they experience. This holds true between sisters. In The Color Purple Nettie and Cellie's unconditional love for one another helped them deal with the troubles they both faced. There unconditional love was shown through Cellie’s relentless writing hoping that one of her letters would get through. At no point did she ever give up. This love helped Nettie live with her verbally and physically abusive husband, Albert. Desiree on the other hand not being blood related to the women she called her mother; Madame Valmonde still had a tremendous amount of love for her. When Desiree’s husband told her to leave her mother said to her, “ Come home to Valmonde; back to your mother who loves you”. This is showing that it doesn’t take blood to create a strong bond and that no matter what; unconditional love will always help you get through hard times.

During the different times that both stories were written the way that African Americans were treated were quite similar. Back in 1909 when The Color Purple took place it was before woman were really seen as what they are and they were just figured to be a caretaker and a maid. The fact that Nettie was black didn’t help because she was considered to be dumb while in fact she was intelligent. During her years when she was married to Albert she with a little help of her sister Cellie learned how to read. Slavery was taking place during the period Desiree’s baby was written in. It was a horrible thing to be African American and a woman during that time. When it was thought that Desiree was an African American her husband shunned her and wanted nothing to do with her.

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