One of the ways to approach this particular series of letters lies in the idea of "strength" — that is, what does "strong" mean? Does it mean physical might? The evidence in this novel seems to indicate that black men use physical might in order to keep their wives in their place — just as white men have used physical might to keep the black man in his place. Certainly, Sofia tends to solve all her problems with physical violence. She learned a long time ago that you have to fight: "All my life I had to fight," she told Celie in Letter 21.
However, in these letters, we see something emerging that is even stronger than physical might. It is the strength of bonding between black blood-sisters and black friend-sisters. Bonding joins these different black women together just as scraps of cloth are joined together to form a new, strong whole creation — a quilt, a central metaphor in Letter 40 and throughout the novel.
To begin with, we are introduced to a man who looks like a professional "strong man." To Celie, he is "Prizefighter," so we assume for the sake of the story that he is one. Prizefighter's name is Henry "Buster" Broadax; he is Sofia's new man. Unlike Harpo, Buster feels no need to beat Sofia into submission since he won her admiration by fighting in the ring. This recognized strong man is not a violent man, however, except professionally. Privately, Buster is a gentleman, explaining that his job is "to love [Sofia] and take her where she want to go."
