Celie and Sofia are two women from the book The Color Purple, who have similar attributes by using strength and love as a means to make it through the hardships life as bestowed upon them.

I will start my comparison of these women with the one that uses her strength physically because of her build, and mentally due to her strong will to fight for her respect and independence. Sophia is a strong and confident spirted woman who refuses to be tied only to housework, child rearing, and working in the fields. She is ahead of her time with her expectations that men should also share in the chores of the house, and stands firm on expressing her opinions of how things should be done in their marriage to her husband. She never lets anyone silence her voice no matter the circumstance, until her strong will eventually shapes the outcome of her future and humbles her to the point her voice is somewhat diluted.

Celie represents the woman whose voice is silent but her strength is measured by her dominant endurance. She lives in silence due to her fear of not wanting to be heard, and although seen she is still not appreciated. She endures life as an adult still being physically and mentally abused by her husband and step-children.

The women are similar because of their strength, yet different from the way the choose to deal with adversity and abuse. The factors that contribute to their traits come from the courage they both find at different stages in their lives as women to find their strength to stand up to abusive husbands, who define having a wife as not an equal but someone to control.