Also, be aware that although Celie is a good Christian woman, she is absolutely fascinated by the "evil" that she feels is deeply rooted inside Shug. Shug yells and shouts and curses and is "more evil than [Celie's] mother," but Celie is not repulsed. She remains fixated on the worldly, wicked, and wondrous Shug Avery.
Later, when Shug seems to be recovering, she begins to hum a tune while Celie is tending to her. The tune is a blues song, and Celie is none too happy to hear her humming a blues song, but Shug's humming this song is a sign for us that Shug is coming to life again. Shug, too, realizes what is happening, and she gives all the credit to Celie. Celie may not be pleased to hear the "low down dirty" blues song, but she must feel deeply satisfied when Shug tells her that the music is something that Celie "scratched out" of Shug's head. This acknowledgment is the first appreciative remark that Shug has shared with Celie.
In fact, Shug's brusque veneer begins to dissolve the more she is around Celie. She even asks Celie not to call her "Ma'm"; Shug realizes that they not only share Mr. ________, but that both of them are mothers without their children. The absence of their children and the absence of Mr. ________ when they are together allow them to care for one another.
As further proof that Celie continues to have a deep affection for Shug, despite Shug's vicious tongue and her loose ways, note that Celie hopes someday to fasten some of Shug's hair into her own hair, much as she was anxious earlier to sew a quilt together with Sofia's help (Letter 21). Celie thinks that every inch of Shug is precious. Her caring for Shug is much like taking care of the babies whom she never had a chance to rear. Remember, too, that with Mr._______'s daughters' hair (Letter 9), Celie had little patience, but here, with Shug's hair, she is extremely careful to be gentle.
