Main Characters

Character List

Celie -  The protagonist and narrator of The Color Purple. Celie is a poor, uneducated black woman with a sad personal history. She survives a stepfather who rapes her and steals her babies and also survives an abusive husband.
Nettie -  Celie’s younger sister, whom Mr. ______ initially wanted to marry.
Mr. ______ -  Celie’s husband, who abuses her for years.
Shug Avery -  A sultry blues singer who first appears as Mr. ______’s mistress. Shug becomes Celie’s friend and eventually her lover.

Harpo -  Mr. ______’s eldest son.

Sofia -  A large, fiercely independent woman who befriends Celie and marries Harpo.

Squeak -  Harpo’s lover after Sofia leaves him.

Alphonso -  Celie and Nettie’s stepfather, who the sisters think is their real father until Nettie learns the truth years later.

Samuel -  A minister who, along with his wife, Corrine, adopts Celie’s biological children, Olivia and Adam.

Corrine -  Samuel’s wife.

Olivia -  Celie and Alphonso’s biological daughter, who is adopted by Samuel and Corrine.

Adam -  Celie and Alphonso’s biological son, who, like Olivia, is adopted by Samuel and Corrine.

Tashi -  An Olinka village girl who befriends Olivia and marries Adam. Tashi defies white imperialist culture and embodies the struggle of traditional cultural values against colonization. She chooses to undergo two painful African traditions—facial scarring and genital mutilation—as a way to physically differentiate her culture from imperialist culture.