The Temple of My Familiar

Content Warning: This book contains descriptions of racial and gender oppression, and the attendant isms and discriminatory language; rape and sexual violence; and substance addiction.

Alice Walker’s work consistently highlights the lives and experiences of women, and The Temple of My Familiar is no exception. The main threads of the book are presented through the female characters Carlotta, Fanny, and Lissie. There are also men who feature prominently in the book, including Arveyda, Suwelo, and Hal; however, their struggles and character arcs are directly linked to the women in their lives and thus the feminine experience. Hal’s journey involves learning to really see and accept all of Lissie’s selves; Arveyda learns more about Carlotta’s mother, and eventually his own, as he repairs his relationship with Carlotta in time; and Suwelo’s journey of self-awareness is focused on understanding and appreciating the lived experiences of women, as he faces how and why he has mistreated both Fanny and Carlotta in the past.

The feminine experience is also centered in the context of the other two central themes of the book: The Historical Trauma of Colonization and Spirituality in the Diaspora.