Sofia | Albert

Exposition: When Harpo and Sofia went to Albert to ask for his consent of their marriage, Albert openly expressed his dislike for Sofia. While at Albert's house, Sofia notices how Celie is at Albert's command and decides then and there that she does not like Albert.
Rising Action: Since Albert didn't let them marry, the couple went and got pregnant, making marriage inevitable.
Climax: Without Albert's knowledge, Sofia teaches all the women to be strong and to stand up for themselves for once. This results in the mutiny at the table where all the women but Sofia up and left for Memphis.
Solution: Albert finally changes his ways and treats women with respect.

From the start, Albert acted cold towards Sofia simply because he didn't want his son to be married to her and Sofia acted cold towards him because of the way he treated Celie.

"Who the father? he ast. She look surprise. Harpo, she say. How he know that? He know. She say. Young women no good these days, he say. Got they legs open to every Tom, Dick and Harry (30)."

 Sofia and Albert are complete opposites of one another in the story and they never really come together. Albert believed in controlling women while Sofia believed in respecting one another in a relationship. Without knowing it, Sofia indirectly changed Albert into a much, much better man. Sofia helped Celie change, who up and threw everything in Albert's face at one point, which eventually made him see what was right. These characters worked off of each other to create a contrast of characteristics and ideals in the story.

Sofia | Eleanor Jane

Exposition: Eleanor sticks up for Sofia when Billy tried putting the blame on her for his actions. Sofia thought nothing of it and still didn't after Celie pointed it out to her.
Rising Action: Eleanor Jane tries to get Sofia to like her husband and, again, Sofia could care less.
Climax: Eleanor Jane constantly asks Sofia if she likes her new baby and finally, Sofia told her she feels nothing for or against the baby.
Solution: Eleanor stays close to Sofia by working in Celie's store with her.

The nail is symbolic of the first time we experience Eleanor Jane taking a stand for Sofia. Even when Eleanor was just a little girl, she was on Sofia's side and Sofia thought nothing of it and to this day, she still doesn't.

"Little girl pipe up. Billy do it to his own self, she say. Trying to kick Sofia leg. The little girl dote on Sofia, always stick up for her. Sofia never notice (101)."

          Sofia and Eleanor Jane's relationship is a prime example of how some white people claim to care about black people but really don't. Even though Eleanor says how important of a figure Sofia has been in her life, she never cared enough to even bother to ask Sofia why she was a maid in her house. As much as she claims to and as important of a figure as she was to her survival in the mayor's house, Sofia feels nothing towards Eleanor Jane and she knows Eleanor doesn't truly feel anything for her either.
          A significant point was when Eleanor Jane was so desperate to have Sofia love her her baby boy and Sofia told her that she felt nothing for him. This situation was important because it goes against whites' stereotype of "black mammies," that no matter how bad they treated the black people, all black people love all white children.

Sofia | Mayor/His Wife

Exposition: While the mayor and his wife thought that Sofia would be honored that they were asking her to be their made, Sofia felt disrespected and hated them for it.
Rising Action: The anger builds up inside Sofia as the mayor and his wife keep talking and she eventually lets it out by punching the mayor.
Climax: Inevitably, Sofia ends up in jail where they strip her of her spirit and dignity.
Solution: Sofia ends up working for the mayor and his wife and builds somewhat of a relationship with the mayor's wife.

Thanks to the mayor and his wife's offer of having Sofia be their maid, Sofia ended up in jail, where her spirit was broken and her pride and dignity were taken away. She's broken to the point where she hardly knows who she is anymore, let alone the people around her. 

"When I see Sofia I don't know why she still alive. They crack her skill, they crack her ribs. They tear her nose loose on one side. They blind her in one eye. She swole from head to foot. Her tongue the size of my arm, it stick out tween her teef like a piece of rubber. She can't talk. And she just about the color of a eggplant (87)."

This relationship holds great significance to the story because it was because of the mayor and his wife that Sofia underwent her downfall. Before their indecent where Sofia punched the mayor, Sofia was a strong spirited woman with a lot of pride and dignity. It was from this relationship that we learn how black people and white people interacted at the time and what black people really thought of the white people that they worked for. The mayor's wife is always thinking that she's so kind to Sofia when she really isn't, but Sofia's just too broken to say anything about it. This relationship and the incident with Sofia and the mayor affected all of the important people in Sofia's life. One being Celie, who visited Sofia in jail once and saw how broken she was and to have Sofia say that she was just like Celie made Celie open her eyes to the fact that she was a broken women too.

Sofia | Squeak

Exposition: Sofia doesn't care for Squeak when they first meet at Harpo's bar.
Rising Action: Squeak gets jealous and defensive when she sees Harpo and Sofia dancing, talking, laughing, and having a good time together. Sofia is simply annoyed that this little thing keeps bugging her.
Climax: Sofia's tolerance quickly wears thin and she knocks Squeak out.
Solution: When Sofia comes to visit after she got out of jail, Squeak stands up for herself at the table, telling Harpo that her name is Mary Agnes, not squeak. Sofia starts to respect Squeak more because of this.

Squeak finally speaks up, telling Harpo that she wants to sing, but Harpo quickly shoots the idea down. Squeak used the strength that she got from Celie, who got it from Sofia, to stick up for herself and leave to Memphis with Celie and Shug without Harpo's consent.

"Listen Squeak, say Harpo. You can't go to Memphis. That's all there is to it. Mary Agnes, say Squeak. Squeak, Mary Agnes, what difference do it make? It make a lot, say Squeak (203)."

Much like the situation with Celie, Sofia and Squeak's relationship helped Squeak become a stronger woman.  When the two first met, Squeak was jealous and insecure. By the end of the book, Squeak had mustered up the courage to face Harpo and go off to Memphis with Celie and Shug without having to ask him. Seeing someone as weak as Squeak take a stand like that made Albert and Harpo think twice about controlling the women they were married to. This relationship was just to reinforce the idea that as long as women were emotionally stronger, they wouldn't be dominated by men.

Sofia | Celie

Exposition: Sofia feels sorry for Celie because Celie can't stand up for herself.
Rising Action: Celie tells Harpo to beat Sofia out of spite after she found out Sofia felt sorry for her. Once she finds out, Sofia loses even more respect for Celie.
Climax: While in jail, Sofia's spirit get's broken to the point where she's at their every command and she tells Celie that she's weak like her now.
Solution: When Celie has her outburst at the table before leaving with Shug, Sofia gains some respect for her.

Cleaning products represent the spirits of both Celie and now Sofia: broken. 

"Every time they ast me to do something, Miss Celie, I act like you. I jump right up and do just what they say (88)."

Sofia and Celie's relationship plays and important role in the bigger picture: Celie's growth. Sofia made a positive impact on Celie right from the start, opening Celie's eyes to the existence of strong, independent women. Even though Celie never really made any sort of impact on Sofia, her standing up to Albert while they were all eating gave Sofia some of her old spirit back. Inevitably, Celie's change caused a change in her relationship with Albert too. As Celie continued to gain confidence, she stood up for herself more, she stood up to Albert more and practically forced him to accept that he can't control everything in a relationship.

Sofia | Harpo

Exposition: The two fall in love with one another. 
Rising Action: They get married, have children, and start building their dream home when Harpo decides he wants to have control over everything, especially Sofia. 
Climax: Sofia leaves Harpo. She still loves him and he her, but Sofia is a strong woman who doesn't tolerate Harpo's attitude. 
Solution: Harpo changes his ways and he and Sofia manage to save their marriage.

The downfall of Sofia and Harpo's relationship was caused by a constant fight for power. When Harpo got it into his head that the man had total control and the woman was to do whatever he said, he wouldn't let up. Being married to one of the most strong women, mentally and physically, Harpo didn't get his way and lost his wife instead.

"I want her to do what I say, like you do for Pa... When Pa tell you to do something, you do it, he say. When he say not to, you don't (62)."

          Harpo and Sofia's relationship is an example of a good marriage based on respect rather than society's twisted idea of one where the man is all controlling. We learn that Harpo is a man with good intentions, but falling to to society's and his father's twisted ways caused the downfall of his once perfect marriage. It also sends a message to other women in the book that if women were as physically and mentally strong as Sofia, they wouldn't be so controlled and dominated by the men in their lives. Harpo and Sofia's relationship gave a basis to compare other relationships in the story to.
          As a result of everything that happened between Sofia and Harpo, Harpo learned to be a better man, that it was wiser to do what he felt was right rather than conforming to society's ways. More importantly, Sofia and Harpo's relationship helped open Albert's eyes to the notion that a successful relationship was not based on how much of it the man controlled.