But I'm Here
I curse you, I say.That is an excerpt from The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. In the movie, it's known as Celie's Liberation Scene, where she finally walks away from her abusive relationship with the man she's married to.
What that mean? he say.
I say, Until you do right by me, everything you touch will crumble.
He laugh. Who you think you is? You can't curse me. Look at you. You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman. Goddamn, he say, you nothing at all.
Until you do right by me, I say, everything you even dream about will fail. I give it to him straight, just like it come to me. And it seem to come to me from the trees.
Whenever I feel down, whether from plain old depression or just dealing with messed up bullshit from home, I look up this passage, and I also look it up on Youtube.
It is so powerful, that quote. It's the part where Celie finds that courage in herself to stand up against her abuser, with the backing of people who love her. It's the part where she grows ten feet tall and towers in triumph over this small man who has been trying to crush her.
And he throws more abuses at her, because he can't stand the fact that she's leaving, and walking away, he tells her just how little he thinks of her.
And she points out to him, quite succintly, But by God, I'm here.
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