After Celie advises her stepson Harpo to beat Sofia into submission, Sofia confronts her. They are eventually reconciled, of course, but Sofia is thoroughly honest with others, as well as with herself. In contrast, when Celie admits — only to herself — that she wronged Sofia by telling Harpo to beat her, Sofia demands that Celie admit aloud that she told Harpo to beat her.
Although Sofia survives severe beatings during her imprisonment, she pays much too much for being herself, and in the process, she loses much of her strength and dignity. It is ironic that the value that she places on fighting back is the very thing that prevents her from living an independent life. Her adamant refusal to be a white woman's maid is eventually crushed, and she is forced to work — first, without pay in the prison, doing laundry, and then, with pay, as the white mayor's family maid. It is no wonder that she becomes a stranger to her own children. But it is to Harpo's credit that he loves Sofia more than anything, and he has a lasting love for her that proves that he respects her personhood.
In summary, Sofia is not tragic as much as she is symbolic of a woman who had the courage to fight against known odds.
