International Journal of English Language, Education and

Literature Studies (IJEEL)

ISSN: 2583-3812 Journal Home Page: https://ijeel.org/
Vol-4, Issue-3, May-Jun 2025 Journal CrossRef DOI: 10.22161/ijeel

Intersectionality and women's Empowerment: Race,

class, and identity Sula by Toni Morrison, The Colour
Purple by Alice Walker
Gargi Chauhan, Dr. Guni Vats

Department of English, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research & Studies, India
Article Detail: Abstract
Received on: 13 May 2025 An in-depth examination of gender representation in literature, concentrating
Revised on: 05 Jun 2025 on the experiences of African American women during the 20th century.
Walker confronts traditional gender norms by illustrating Celie's evolution
Accepted on: 09 Jun 2025
from a compliant and marginalised young woman to a confident individual
Published on: 15 Jun 2025 who discovers empowerment through her connections with other women. The
©2025 The Author(s). Published by International relationship between Celie and Shug Avery, who starts as her husband's
Journal of English Language, Education and mistress, transforms into a profound connection that enables Celie to regain
Literature Studies (IJEEL). This is an open access her voice and sense of self. Their relationship challenges conventional
article under the CC BY license expectations of romantic love. Celie’s journey serves as a profound exploration
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). of the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality within a patriarchal society.
Keywords— Gender Representation, Race, "The Colour Purple" critiques the systemic oppression encountered by African
Sexual Exploitation, Personal Identity American women, revealing the stark realities of domestic violence, sexual
exploitation, and economic marginalisation. Walker depicts the strength of her
female characters, showcasing their ability to manoeuvre and challenge these
oppressive systems through unity, spirituality, and personal expression. This
paper presents a nuanced exploration of gender representation in literature,
highlighting the intricate and varied experiences of African American women.
It addresses the interplay of race, gender, and power, while honouring the
strength and resilience evident in women's relationships and their personal
paths towards self-empowerment and liberation.

I. INTRODUCTION inconsistencies present in any given discourse. The

All excellent works of literature has conflict, and core tenet of intersectionality is the idea that people
Morrison's works revolve on the internal and external are not only a part of one social framework, but of
struggles with identity. So, we need to find out how several frameworks that interact with each other in
much these authors muddle alienating codes in their complex ways. The goal of an intersectional approach,
stories. There is a complicated link between racial according to Hill Collins (277), is to understand how
rhetoric, gender discourse, and class discourse that different social institutions impact different people's
breaks down discussions of identity disparity. situations within different oppressive systems. An
Narratives create identity discourse by promoting the analytical framework that includes "different
junction of class and the imposing reality of race. responses to shared difficulties" (28), Hill Collins
Morrison acts as a go-between, using techniques that presents an expanded picture of intersectionality.
elicit a variety of reactions by means of paradox- There is a mountain of data showing how people's
building or parallelism, thereby highlighting the intersecting identities affect their happiness, life

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©International Journal of English Language, Education and Literature Studies (IJEEL) 109
 Chauhan and Vats, International Journal of English Language, Education and Literature Studies (IJEEL), 2025, 4(3)
May-Jun 2025

circumstances, and social networks (Phoenix & which Walker and Morrison either subvert or
Pattynama, 6). unintentionally support standard narratives around
Narratives that emphasise either membership or inequality. While avoiding oversimplified binary
differentiation have allowed it to remain intact. frameworks within identity categories, both writers
As a result, writers such as Morrison and Walker who acknowledge the contemporaneous nature of gender,
work with these ideas use tactics that provoke class, and racial inequities. Instead of just preserving
different responses by using methods of paradox or preexisting historical links, they provide new
parallelism, which brings attention to the inherent categories that question traditional narratives of
inconsistencies in speech. In order to uncover several identity, demonstrating the complex relationship
levels of meaning in tales, it is the literary analyst's between culture, history, and discourse. By
duty to use suitable interpretive tools. illustrating how gender, class, and race all exist in
tandem, we can see how these narratives play a
Conflict is an essential component of fiction, and
significant role in defining identity politics. We will
Walker and Morrison's works revolve on the internal
look at discourse components and assess them based
and outward struggles of identity. The question then
on how often they appear and how important they are
becomes how much these writers obfuscate distancing
in literature.
patterns in their stories. When we look at racial
rhetoric in the context of class and gender, we see a Characters from a variety of socioeconomic statuses,
complex connection that makes it harder to talk about ethnicities, and genders all felt marginalised. The
identity disparity. work of Alice Walker, who laid the groundwork for
feminist theory, deserves recognition.
Many narratives about identity concentrate on the
complex relationship between social class and racial Described by Delores Williams as a position "against
identity. Disregarding the convergence of differences any oppression on the grounds of race, gender, class,
undermines much analytical and inventive literary sexual preferences and physical ability" in her
criticism that depends on individual analytical theological book Sisters in the Wilderness, as a
viewpoints. Through depicting deep-seated identity paradigm of personalism. By deftly avoiding a narrow
crises, Walker and Morrison expose the characters' emphasis on features of identity, The Colour Purple
predicaments by drawing attention to the complex avoids overt generalisation while deftly incorporating
interconnections within and between different types a number of categories. Similarly, Morrison's work
of identities. shows how realignment and communal consciousness
impact identity talks.
Both books show a deep comprehension of the many
facets of African American identities, which goes The Colour Purple shows how a shift in perspective
against the grain of common interpretations that place helps people progress as a species. "Right after that, he
Morrison and Walker's works in a purely feminist starts to show symptoms of progress," Celie notes.
context. Indicators of racial or gender binaries interact According to her, "kills" is the meaning (231). While
with other structural variables that produce unequal helping his wife Sofia care for their children, Harpo—
connections, such as disability, sexual orientation, the son of Mister—manages a warped view of
class, and gender. Focusing on only one aspect of manhood. Mary Agnes, Harpo's partner, shows
literary discourse is simplistic and out of touch with agency by standing up for herself, demanding respect
reality's intricacies. Still, it is important to stress that from everyone, and deciding to leave him to pursue
focusing just on identification would be a major her musical dreams (Squeak/Mary Agnes).
misreading of creative representation and the Consequently, she follows in Shug's footsteps. Once
examination of society via characterization, storyline, Celie starts getting letters from Nettie, whom she
or location. thought was dead, her awareness goes through the
roof. "Now I know Nettie living I begin to swagger a
A critic's job is to shed light on these choices by
little bit." This is the exact line that motivates her to
drawing connections to other parts of works of
leave Mister and travel to the city to be with Shug,
literature. This analytical effort exemplifies this
thanks to the uplifting tone of Nettie's letter. Think
ambivalent viewpoint by investigating the ways in
about it: "We will leave this area as soon as she comes

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©International Journal of English Language, Education and Literature Studies (IJEEL) 110
 Chauhan and Vats, International Journal of English Language, Education and Literature Studies (IJEEL), 2025, 4(3)
May-Jun 2025

back. Our two children, together with her and myself outcomes in the present. In this research, we look at
Specifically, Sofia goes beyond a mentality formed by how different people's backgrounds and experiences
years of resisting male supremacy, establishing herself shape their reactions and understandings.
in an ongoing posture of rebellion against its cultural Characters in both The Bluest Eye and The Colour
standards, customs, and ideas. "All my life I had to Purple struggle with the complexities of their many
struggle." describes her aggressive personality. A identities, which in turn cause them to form
quarrel broke out between my father and myself. relationships that mirror the interaction between and
An argument broke out between my brothers and within their various identities. This complexity and
myself... In a male-dominated environment, a female contradiction is inherent in discussions of identity. By
youngster cannot feel safe number 42. By seeing her avoiding direct confrontation with category
marriage through a critical lens, she rejects any speech representations, this promotes an active and resilient
that is influenced by traditional gender roles. But her conversation on identity discrepancies. Cultural
perspective changes once she goes to jail for publicly hierarchies have always placed the burden on literary
humiliating the mayor's wife. Eleanor Jane, the critics to decipher tales using appropriate techniques
mayor's daughter, helps her temper her racial of interpretation in order to provide numerous levels
animosity, and she comes to see mankind as a whole. of meaning. Many forms of literary critique, whether
When investigating one's identity within larger creative or critical, that use singular analytical
contexts, Walker stresses the need of balance and the frameworks fail because they try to ignore the
use of logical reasoning. Walker advocates for a interplay of inequality. Walker and Morrison reveal
reasoned mentality that eschews extremes in their characters' predicaments by depicting obvious
relationships and attitudes in favour of a middle identity crises; in doing so, they highlight the intricate
ground that opposes inhumanity and dogmatic ideas interconnections among many identity categories.
while yet fitting in with larger conversations. Morrison and Walker's books show a profound
The carefully crafted environment of The Bluest Eye understanding of the multi-faceted nature of African
suggests that a conforming communal consciousness American identity, in contrast to the popular
perpetuates oppression. By delving into the many narratives that cast them as rigid feminist endeavours.
identities of characters spanning gender, race, An intersection of gendered or racial binaries with
migration, and socioeconomic status, we can see how other structural elements that promote unequal
cultural frameworks have imposed limitations. Still, relationships includes class, disability, and sexuality.
many reviewers tend to take an oversimplified view Literary criticism that ignores or downplays other
of the books, drawing only on the stories of Black categories is both erroneous and unfounded. It is
American women. In my view, the main focus should worth noting that only concentrating on identification
be on how humans interact with the constraints would also lead to a blatant distortion of artistic
imposed by awareness. Although women from ethnic representation and societal analysis via character
minorities and women from the majority usually have development, storyline, or environment. Therefore, it
worse results when compared to males, the gender is up to the critic to analyse these decisions in light of
studies literature stresses that these two groups' other features of literary works. This critical effort
everyday lives are quite different. Ethnicity uses Morrison's portrayal of inequality—whether it
exacerbates gender-based divides, and vice versa; a goes against the grain or seems to perpetuate them—
complex understanding of the contextual elements to illustrate this dual perspective. Without clinging to
involved is required to comprehend this relationship. rigid gender or racial/class/sexual orientation
Floya Anthias's "translocational lens" provides a classifications, both authors discuss the
useful framework for thinking about how different interconnectedness of these injustices.
social structures and processes interact to produce Analysing Toni Morrison's work in depth sheds light
different positions and results (12). Therefore, on the structural oppression Black women face by
intersectionality includes not only the ways in which exploring the interplay between social, political, and
different identities interact and evolve across time, but economic forces. Morrison depicts Black women's
also the consequences of these relationships for struggles with gender and racial prejudice in novels

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May-Jun 2025

such as Beloved and Sula. The hegemony of white Seanna et al., 1997). With this information in hand, we
values in society, the economic and political were able to evaluate Morrison's story in light of
marginalisation of Black women, and the exploitation contemporary social issues by placing it within the
of their bodies are all parts of this systematic preexisting literature on social justice movements.
oppression that stems from slavery and structural Data triangulation, which involves comparing the
inequality (McGee 21). These kinds of themes results of the theme analysis with other academic
highlight the challenges that Black women confront in interpretations and having conversations with
modern society, such as inequality in healthcare, specialists in literary and gender studies to confirm
educational prospects, and employment (Leath et al., the validity of the results, further strengthens the
22; Showunmi, 23). Insightful social criticisms and rigour of this research. This study aims to shed light
historical narratives, Morrison's writings shed light on on how Toni Morrison's works provide a critical
the persistence of these oppressions in modern analysis of modern society's structure and serve as
society. The complex characters and stories created by valuable educational tools in current academic
Morrison shed light on the strength and defiance discussions about gender, race, and social justice in
shown by Black women in the face of persistent the US.
persecution, providing important context for Sethe, the protagonist of Toni Morrison's Beloved,
analysing current societal injustices. personifies the ways in which the pain of slavery has
Toni Morrison's understanding of the interplay shaped Black women's identities and lived
between gender, race, and identity in her writings experiences. Sethe, a former slave who escapes from a
sheds light on the pervasive oppression that Black plantation, has deep psychological wounds from the
women in America continue to endure. Morrison cruel treatment she received while in bondage; this is
shows how slavery and racism have affected Black the story of her journey. For a long time, Sethe feels
women in all walks of life, from the social to the both bodily and mental pain. She gained a new
economic to the political, via complex characters and perspective on herself and the world around her as a
stories that deal with pain, marginalisation, and the result of the event. At the story's heart is the impact of
search for identity (Jum-Gyu 23). Her research slavery on the bond between Black women and their
provides analytical tools to combat long-standing responsibilities as mothers and vital members of their
injustices and sheds light on the need of communities, as shown in the pivotal moment when
understanding how race and gender interact to better she chooses to end her daughter Beloved's life rather
understand the struggles Black women face today. than let her face enslavement.
This research takes a qualitative approach by The long-lasting impact of slavery on succeeding
analysing Toni Morrison's works using content generations, drawing attention to the obstacles
analysis. It aims to examine how Beloved, Sula, and encountered by Black women in addressing the
The Bluest Eye critique modern societal frameworks residue of brutality. Morrison highlights the story's
related to gender and race (Gwee et al. 24). This study female characters, particularly Sethe and Baby Suggs,
relies on secondary qualitative sources for its data, who are all fighting to reclaim their identities and
which include Morrison's novels as main texts, fulfil their responsibilities in the wake of slavery while
relevant journal papers as supporting literature, and carrying the weight of their pain and traumatic
research linked to social movements such as Black experiences. Morrison shows that the tragedy of
Lives Matter as contextual data. In this literary slavery affects more than just the people who were
critique of Morrison's writings, the author draws physically there by embodying a haunting and
parallels between her books and modern social issues unresolved history in her character Beloved. The scars
and social justice movements (Saddam 78; Thapliyal inflicted by this heritage on succeeding generations
95). have a lasting impact on Black women's identities and
Systemic racism, collective trauma, racial beauty the roles they play in society.
standards, and Black women's empowerment were In her book Sula, Toni Morrison explores the complex
among the major themes identified and structured via relationship of two Black women, Nel Wright and
the use of thematic analysis (Kamesha et al., 2002; Sula Peace. The story goes on to stress the importance

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of Black women's communities and the social Taking Kimberlé Crenshaw's notion of
demands put on them. At its core, the story is about intersectionality into account is crucial for
the friendship between Sula and Nel, which highlights comprehending gender-based oppression in modern
their struggle through a society and a race fraught America. Black women face a double whammy of
with obstacles. In order to show how the Black racial and gender discrimination, which
community has different expectations of women, intersectionality sheds light on. This puts them in an
Morrison uses this complex connection. While Sula especially vulnerable position in society. In this
chooses a more independent path and rejects social setting, Black women face a more complex and
conventions, Nel is expected to comply to traditional systemic kind of oppression as a consequence of racial
expectations as a husband and mum. By choosing to discrimination in addition to gender-based
go against the grain of society, Sula has effectively cast marginalisation. Legal and legislative frameworks, as
herself in the role of an outcast. Community members pointed out by Crenshaw, fail to adequately address
often enforce rigid social norms on Black women's these types of oppression because they treat gender
behaviour, which the book sharply analyses. and racism as separate concerns, failing to
Sula delves deeper into how these cultural standards acknowledge the interaction between the two. Since
limit Black women's independence and freedom. Black women continue to face prejudice based on both
People often criticise Sula for what they see as her their gender and their race, it is essential to have a
immorality since she represents a life of thorough understanding of intersectionality in order
independence. The will of Black women to redefine to analyse the obstacles Black women face in accessing
themselves in a way that defies societal norms is on healthcare, jobs, and the judicial system (Crenshaw
full display here. In the meantime, patriarchal norms 89).
impose restrictions on women like Nel, who tries to Toni Morrison's writings continue to address
conform to society standards. This story criticises the important issues in modern society, such as gender
norms that keep Black women from achieving their inequality, reproductive rights, and sexual assault.
full potential and highlights the importance of female Morrison explores in Beloved the consequences of
camaraderie as a safety nett while dealing with sexual abuse on enslaved Black women and the deep
overwhelming social demands. pain it caused them. When discussing the modern
When it comes to access to healthcare, education, and epidemic of sexual assault against Black women, this
jobs, Black women in the US still face serious subject remains very relevant. On a national level,
challenges from systemic racism. Discriminatory discussions on reproductive rights and health care
practices in student evaluation and placement, access tend to exclude Black women, who have unique
inadequate funding in areas with a Black majority, challenges in this area. Ross et al. found that Black
and limited access to high-quality schools are all women in the US have a distinct disadvantage when
manifestations of racial inequality in education (Linda it comes to access to high-quality reproductive health
200; Paula et al. 202). Concerningly, there is a gender services, which is associated with an elevated risk of
gap in health care, with Black women often receiving maternal mortality due to inadequate treatment.
worse treatment than White women. Uneven access to Looking at these challenges from many angles shows
adequate health care resources and shockingly high that they are more complex than just racial or gender
rates of maternal death are clear manifestations of this concerns. Rather, they stand for the intersection of the
inequality. Despite having the same level of education two oppressions that Black women face (Ross et al.
and experience as their male or white female 70).
colleagues, Black women often earn less money in the The incorporation of Morrison's ideas into academic
workplace due to racial and gender inequalities curricula has sparked deeper discussions on gender
(Bailey et al.17). In addition to affecting Black and race in the United States, as well as social justice
women's access to resources, these issues show how and the role of education in the fight against racism.
systematic racism keeps them marginalised in many Students and scholars alike may use these books to
areas of life. investigate the connections between past stories and
systemic injustices in the present.

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[7] Singh, Sakshi. “Alice Walker’s The Color Purple:

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II. CONCLUSION
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