Letter 19:
Harpo tells his father that Sofia doesn’t listen to him or do what he says. Mr. _______ asks if Harpo has tried to make Sofia obey by beating her. Harpo says he hasn’t tried that yet. Mr. _______ tells him that the only way to make a woman understand and obey is to beat her.
Three years have passed since Harpo and Sofia got married. Harpo is still happy with Sofia, but he wants her to listen to him more. He asks Celie what to do, and she says he should try beating Sofia to make her listen. It is not clear at first why Celie says this.
One day, Harpo comes back to Mr. _______’s home all bruised and hurt. He tells Celie that he got into a fight with a stubborn mule. But Celie knows the truth: Harpo tried to beat Sofia, and Sofia fought back, hurting him.
Letter 20:
One day, Celie is walking near Sofia and Harpo’s small house, which is on the edge of Mr. _______’s land. She hears them fighting loudly and wonders if they might hurt each other badly someday.
But the next day, when Celie looks over, she sees Sofia and Harpo with their two babies. This time, their home is calm and peaceful. They are getting ready to visit Sofia’s sister, Odessa.
Letter 21:
Celie has trouble sleeping and doesn’t know why. Then she realizes she made a mistake by telling Harpo to beat Sofia to make her listen.
One day, Sofia comes to Celie and gives back the curtains that Celie had made for Sofia’s house. Sofia tells Celie that she looked up to her for help, but instead, Celie told Harpo to hit her.
Sofia says she was hurt by Celie’s advice. She explains that when she was younger, her brothers and father were very harsh. Now, as a wife, she wants Harpo to treat her with respect and as a free person.
Sofia feels sorry for Celie, who has to obey Mr. _______ without question. Celie talks about her own family and admits that she has never hurt anyone on purpose. She doesn’t mention her father’s abuse in detail.
Sofia and Celie end up laughing together, joking about Mr. _______. Sofia says that Celie should hit him on the head and get rid of him, though they both know it’s just a funny thought. Celie says she’ll be free from Mr. _______ when she goes to heaven.
Sofia and Celie sit on the steps outside Mr. _______’s house and enjoy their new friendship.
Letter 22:
Shug Avery is very sick, and everyone in town thinks her illness is because of her wild and independent lifestyle. People say she might have tuberculosis or a “nasty woman disease” from her many lovers.
Celie starts helping out at the church, cleaning the benches after services. The preacher gives a fiery sermon about a woman who has strayed from God, and everyone knows he is talking about Shug, though he doesn’t say her name.
After the sermon, Mr. _______ gets very angry because even the preacher is criticizing Shug. He decides to help her. He leaves for five days and comes back with Shug, who is very ill. Mr. _______ tells Harpo, Sofia, and Celie to get the house ready for their guest.
Celie is thrilled that Shug is coming to stay with them. She is so excited that she can barely talk to Shug as Mr. _______ helps her up the steps. When Shug meets Celie, she just says that Celie is very ugly and laughs.
Letter 23:
While she is sick in bed at Mr. ______’s house, Shug gets very angry and calls Mr. ______ a “boy” instead of a “man.” Even though Shug seems to be getting better, Mr. ______ is very worried about her. He keeps a pipe in his mouth all day, even though it has no tobacco in it. He sits in Shug’s room and won’t eat the food Celie makes for him.
Celie talks to Mr. ______ about Shug and he says it’s okay if Celie wants Shug to leave, even though he really wants Shug to stay. Celie tells him that she also wants Shug to stay. Mr. ______ tries hard not to cry as he keeps worrying about Shug. Shug calls Mr. ______ by his real name, Albert.
Letter 24:
Even though Shug and Mr. ______ have been together and have three children, Mr. ______ is nervous about giving Shug a bath. So, Celie offers to help and bathe Shug. As Celie bathes Shug, she looks at Shug’s naked body and thinks it is very beautiful, even though Shug is sick. Shug jokes and asks if Celie has ever seen a naked woman before. Celie says she hasn’t.
Shug then asks Celie if she has children. Celie says she has two, but she doesn’t know where they are. Celie also asks Shug if she misses her children, who are staying with Shug’s mother somewhere else. Shug replies that she doesn’t miss anything in her life, not even her own children.
Letter 25:
Celie makes a big breakfast for everyone with eggs, biscuits, and ham. She asks Shug if she would like some food, but Shug says no and just wants coffee and cigarettes. Celie goes to get water for Shug. When Celie comes back, she finds that Shug has eaten some of the ham and biscuit from her plate. Celie tells Mr. ______ about this, and he is happy that Shug has eaten something.
Letter 26:
Celie helps Shug by brushing her hair, which has been messy for a long time. Even though Mr. ____ thinks Shug is very pretty, he knows her hair is tangled. While Celie is brushing, Shug starts humming a song. Celie likes the song but thinks it sounds a bit “dirty.” Shug says it’s a song she made up herself, and it’s just something that came from her head.
Letter 27:
Mr. ____’s father visits and gets very angry at Mr. ____ for taking care of Shug while she’s sick. He calls Shug a “dirty” woman. This makes Celie very mad, so she spits in Mr. ____’s father’s water. She even thinks about doing worse things, like putting ground glass or pee in his water, but she decides not to.
Mr. ____’s father says that Shug comes from a bad family and that her mother does laundry for white families, which he thinks is disgraceful. He also tells Celie that not many wives would let their husband’s lover live with them. After hearing this, Celie feels closer to Mr. ____ because they both care about Shug.
A few days later, Tobias, Mr. ____’s brother, visits. He asks about Shug’s health and talks about his wife, Margaret, who he says doesn’t work as hard as Celie. Celie knows that Tobias and Mr. ____’s father are only interested in money and are selling their land to make a profit. Celie and Harpo’s fields are the most valuable and used to belong to Mr. ____’s father.
Shug comes outside and greets Tobias. She then tries to learn how to sew from Celie, but her stitches are messy, just like her song. As Celie stitches and talks with Tobias on the porch, she feels happy, which is a rare feeling for her since marrying Mr. ____.
