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Colour Purple, Porphyrias Lover

The “Color Purple” and “Porphyria’s Lover”, a poem by Robert Browning, are very thematically similar. Both have very closely related but different examples to show the effects and the power of possession.

The first example of possession in “Color Purple” is exposed in the relationship between Celie and the man she had grown up calling her “pa”. This man had treated Celie as one of his animals, acting as if he had owned her. After spending years of forcing Celie to do many of his duties, Pa (otherwise known as Alphonso) had decided it was time to get rid of her and married her off. Alphonso uses many catches, all of which helped convince Mr________ to accept Celie in marriage. Some of these bribes included “You can do everything just like you want to and she aint gonna make you feed it or clothe it” and “She’d come with her own Linen. She can take that cow she raise down there back of the crib.” These quotes show how her Pa believed he owned her. The possession he held for Celie was so great that he was able to offer her for marriage not because of the person she was, but for the things she could bring with her, and the chores she was able to complete.

Browning’s Poem “Porphyria’s Lover” uses the plot of this dramatic monologue to represent and tie in the aspect of possession. The man in Porphyria’s life is so engaged in the fact that Porphyria has some sense of feeling toward him and believes that her connections with the outside world is the only thing keeping her from staying with him. This man is so in love with Porphyria that she is able to make everything for him feel better. To him, Porphyria is above all else and changes the atmosphere almost automatically. “When glided in Porphyria; straight she shut the cold out and the storm, And kneeled down and made the cheerless grate Blaze up and make the whole cottage warm.”

Another way Walker uses her novel to develop possession, is when Celie decides to leave for Memphis with Shug, to get away from...