He [Pa] never had a kine word to say to me. Just say You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t. First he put his thing up gainst my hip and sort of wiggle it around. Then he grab hold my titties. Then he push his thing inside my pussy. When that hurt, I cry. He start to choke me, saying You better shut up and git used to it.
But I don’t never get used to it. And now I feels sick every time I be the one to cook. (1.4-5)
Pa commits several forms of violence against Celie. Clearly, he’s physically violent to her by raping her. He also causes emotional damage by never showing any respect for her as a human being; he orders her around without ever saying anything kind to her. Finally, he also emotionally separates her from others by forcing her to keep quiet about the way he’s treating her.
Quote 2
He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church. I may have got somethin in my eye but I didn’t wink. I don’t even look at mens. (5.1)
Pa’s violence emerges suddenly and arbitrarily, for actions that most people would consider normal.
I ain’t never struck a living thing, I say. Oh, when I was at home I tap the little ones on the behind to make 'em behave, but not hard enough to hurt.
What you do when you git mad? she ast.
I think. I can’t even remember the last time I felt mad, I say. I used to git mad at my mammy cause she put a lot of work on me. Then I see how sick she is. Couldn’t stay mad at her. Couldn’t be mad at my daddy cause he my daddy. Bible say, Honor father and mother no matter what. Then after while every time I got mad, or start to feel mad, I got sick. Felt like throwing up. Terrible feeling. Then I start to feel nothing at all. (21.39-41)
Celie has been beaten so much, she has become numb to life.