The Genre Debate

Since its publication, critics and readers have debated the generic identity of The Color Purple.

 

 

To what extent does Walker’s novel fit into the following categories? 

 

 

1. An Epistolary Novel? 

 

Definition: A form of sentimental novel popular in the eighteenth century.  The epistolary novel is composed of letters or documents and usually represents female experience.  Most epistolary novels in the eighteenth century were written by middle-class men.  The epistolary novel appears to dramatise a desire for communication and exchange and enables the writer to set down a character’s thoughts and give a peek at the psychology of the protagonist without authorial framing or interference.  However, this form of novel is usually didactic and ends with the heroine’s surrender to male domination. 

 

2. A Bildungsroman? 

 

Definition: A novel which charts the spiritual or emotional development of its main character, focusing primarily on his or her formative years.  

 

3. A Folk Tale?

 

Definition: A popular story which is passed on from one generation to another through the oral tradition.  The structure of the folk tale is usually simple and the plot generally ends happily.  This category includes fairy tales, myths and fables, all of which may include supernatural elements.  Resolutions are often wrought by a form of trickery.   

 

4. An Historical Novel?

 

Definition: A novel which recreates a particular period in history.  Characters may be historical or fictional but historical conditions anchor the plot.  When Alice Walker first conceived The Color Purple she envisaged it as an ‘historical novel’ (‘Writing the Color Purple’, In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens (Harcourt 1983, 356).