Angelina Caporale Patriarchy is the system in which men, the father, and the eldest son are the head of the family, organization, and or government. Lineage and power are traced through the head male. All decisions are made by this head male figure in the dominant role. In The Color Purple, “Mister” does not marry Huggs because his father forbid him too. “Mister” reigns over his house with physical abuse, but as soon as his father comes he regresses into a little boy such as the scene when his father forces him to sit down on the swing with just a look and puts his boot menacingly planted near “Mister’s” genital area.