In Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Shug Avery introduces the novel's protagonist, Celie, to the concept of religious embodiment. Critic Anne-Janine Morey, in her book Religion and Sexuality in American Literature, defines embodiment as “the unreconciled relationship between body and spirit” (3). In Western theology, God (the Word) and the flesh are conceived as binary oppositions, with the divine acting on a metaphysical level. While popular theology asserts that the body, with all its desires and aspirations, is completely separate from the soul, which is generally associated with spirituality and the divine, analogies and metaphors linking the spiritual to the sexual can be found in the Bible itself. , as in Paul's epistle to the Ephesians and the Song of Solomon. These two biblical texts explicitly and metaphorically compare Christ's relationship with the Church to the relationship between two lovers. This analogy greatly complicates the Judeo-Christian narrative that spiritual fulfillment and sexuality are diametrically opposed, positing instead that the achievement of the former is largely dependent on the recognition and indulgence of the latter. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Shug Avery's theological beliefs follow this more sex- and body-positive interpretation of God's Word. For Shug, God is not an abstract, immutable entity; on the contrary, He is present in all material things, especially in the human body. In one of the novel's key scenes, Shug asks Celie, "Have you ever felt God in church?" I never did it. [...] Any God I ever felt in church I brought with me. And I think everyone else did too. They come to church to share God, not to find God” (Walker 193). Shug's articulation suggests that God is another people, and that this divine presence can only be encountered through human connection. Shug then asks Celie what she imagines God to be like, to which Celie responds, "He's tall and old and tall, gray-bearded and white." He wears white robes and walks barefoot” (194). Shug responds, "It's the one in the White People's Bible" (194), implying that people create God in their own image rather than the other way around. She sums up her philosophy: “God is in you and in everyone. You come into the world with God. But only those who seek it within find it” (195). Shug's philosophy influences Celie's own spiritual rebirth, which is inextricably linked to her sexual awakening. Before Shug appears, Celie endures a loveless half-existence with her husband, Albert. Given the sexual abuse Celie experiences at the hands of her stepfather, it is not surprising that she never imagines sex as a potentially pleasurable experience. When Celie describes her sex life with Albert to Shug, she remarks, “Why, Miss Celie. You make it look like he’s going to the bathroom on you” (77). It is only through Shug that Célie finally experiences the possibility of pleasurable sexuality and discovers her own latent lesbianism. It is Shug who initiates Celie's transformation from an oppressed, asexual housewife into a liberated woman, represented by the scene in which Shug forces Celie to inspect her own vagina in the mirror. By discovering the source of her femininity and the link to her repressed desire, Célie begins the process of seeking God through self-knowledge. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a personalized trial a new complete sexuality..