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Sexual Violence in Selected Works of Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and Sapphire
Vlasáková, Michaela ; Veselá, Pavla (advisor) ; Ulmanová, Hana (referee)
This thesis focuses on three works of African-American female writers: Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Alice Walker's The Color Purple, and Sapphire's Push. The primary topic of my analysis is sexual violence, or more specifically, child sexual abuse and the trauma resulting from it. Each selected novel has a protagonist who is a victim of sexual abuse and/or rape. Their victimhood plays a significant role in their psychologies, relationships, development, and their (in)ability to live a "normal" life. This thesis is divided into six chapters. In the introduction, I explain why these aforementioned works are suitable for comparison. What follows is a brief introduction to the topic of child sexual abuse and the trauma which results from it. I also present the theoretical literature I use to support my claims in the upcoming chapters. In addition, I briefly define the terms "happy ending," "realistic ending," and "tragic ending." The first analytic chapter studies the character of Celie in The Color Purple. It follows her development from a fourteen-year-old uneducated victim, to the fully formed independent survivor she becomes. Even though Celie is the only character that is serially victimized, by both her stepfather and her husband, Celie's story is one of hope. Through her abusive marriage to...
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