Like Celie, Albert adores Shug. Even Celie is aware of this. She knows that Mr. ________ and Shug know each other's secrets. Shug knows Mr._______'s first name, Albert, and calls him by it, which indicates that they are equals in their relationship, or even perhaps that Shug has the upper hand. It is an altogether different set-up than what Albert shares with Celie.
However, Albert is not as mean to Celie now that the softening element of Shug is in the house. For the first time, he shows a tiny bit of concern for Celie's feelings — something he has never done before. He wants to know if Celie minds if Shug stays in the house; he wants to know how Celie feels about Shug's being there. Celie is stunned at his concern for her, Celie, and she is more than a little puzzled at the depth of his concern for Shug. She sees his eyes mist over as he tells Celie that "Nobody fight for Shug." Shug brings out both emotion and sensitivity within Albert. But not enough. Albert doesn't realize that no one fights for Celie.
The bond between Celie and Albert is strengthened when Albert's father arrives and expresses disgust that Albert has taken the diseased and dark-skinned Shug into his home. Secretly, Celie spits into the man's glass of water and tells God that "This is the closest us [she and Albert] ever felt." And all because of Shug Avery. Even Albert's brother Tobias comes to assess the situation.
In these scenes, you should be aware that neither Albert's father nor Tobias came to "inspect" Celie, Albert's legal wife. Instead, Albert's sisters, Kate and Carrie, came to inspect Celie's housekeeping. The sexual division, the sexist dimension of this society, is distinct. Women come to evaluate a wife and her work. Men come to question another man's judgment, particularly when a "trifling" love relationship might socially and financially destroy a man. The narrow sexist dimensions of the status quo society of Albert, his family, and Celie stand in stark contrast to the brassy, liberated world of the recovering Shug Avery.
