He don't want a wife, he want a dog.

In “The Color Purple,” three women play prominent roles. Celie is the main character, a woman who allows men to control her, especially Albert, her husband. Sofia is one of Celie’s friends, wife to Harpo, a boy Celie raised. Sofia is strong and doesn’t allow Harpo to abuse her. Shug was once Albert’s mistress. Life Sofia, Shug is strong, but she has a cruel side, something that Celie and Sofia do not possess.

Celie, Sofia, and Shug exhibit varying levels of strength. Sofia is both physically and mentally strong. She was raised in a family of men that pursued her, so she had to learn at an early age how to fight. When her husband Harpo attempts to beat her, she roars back and leaves him with bruises and black eyes. At one point, Harpo goes on an eating binge in an attempt to grow as strong as Sofia, but she continually overpowers him. Eventually, she leaves Harpo and takes their children with them, proving that Sofia does not need to have a man to support her or make her happy. Celia and Sofia are friends, but Celie is envious of Sofia’s spirit. Celie looks anemic in comparison to Sofia, and she knows this. Celie is weak and submissive, taking Albert’s beatings and raising his children from a previous marriage without complaint. As a young girl, her father raped her, and this altered her psyche so that she now allows men to rule her. Celie never gets angry with Albert or argues with him. If he commands it, she follows it. When Albert brings Shug to their house for Celie to look after, Celie accepts her role as caregiver to her husband’s old mistress. She tends to her and bathes her, and when Shug and Albert start sleeping together, Celie pretends not to mind.

When Shug appears in “The Color Purple,” she presents a blend of Sofia and vinegar. Like Sofia, she is good-looking and displays some toughness, but she is also harsh and brutal. When Albert first takes her home, she does not greet Celie. Instead, she snorts at her and declares her ugly. Another time, Albert takes her hand while she lays in bed, and she yells at him for bothering her. As Sofia is with men, so is Shug. Shug won’t stand for a man commanding her. Shug sings at Harpo’s nightclub even though Albert forbids her. Shug, however, has a looser sense of morals than Sofia and Celie. She sleeps around and sings jazz songs. She had three children by Albert but doesn’t raise them. People think she’s ill because she has a “nasty woman” disease. Eventually, Shug softens some, and she and Celie become friends. Or perhaps something more.