Previous
Adam
After the death of her husband who is lynched by a gang of white men, Celie and Nettie's mother falls into a deep depression. She eventually marries Pa, and never tells the girls that Pa is not their actual father. As she lies depressed in bed, Pa rapes Celie. She dies early in the story.
Get the entire The Color Purple LitChart as a printable PDF.
Celie and Nettie's mother Character Timeline in The Color Purple
The timeline below shows where the character Celie and Nettie's mother appears in The Color Purple. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Letter 1
Celie reveals that her mother is ill and unwilling, at the moment, to sleep with Celie's father, (referred to here...
(full context)
After these sexual assaults begin, Celie's father is nicer to her mother, but Celie knows that her mother will not live much longer.
(full context)
Letter 2
In a second letter, Celie describes how her mother dies "cussing and screaming." Celie is pregnant, and Celie's mother, as she is dying, wonders...
(full context)
