Celie grows up into an infertile, subservient woman. She does not see herself as happy and gets through each day by thinking that it’s almost over. When Harpo brings home his new wife, Sophia, this sheds new light on Celie’s existence. Sophia is everything Celie is not; loud, bossy, and pants-wearing. However, this independence scares Celie and when Harpo asks for help controlling his independent wife, she tells him to beat her. This does not go over well and Sofia leaves Harpo.