In the movie, The Color Purple, why didn't Albert just throw Nettie's letters to Celie away?

Because the movie/book wouldn’t have been as good without Shug finding the letters and Celie reuniting with Nettie. Same reason a character does anything in a piece of fiction: plot progression.

Spielberg thought that a movie titled The Purple Letter Shredder, would have been too mundane in name and concept. ;-)

Guilt because he knew he was wrong. Somewhere deep inside he knew.
Love that movie.

@GloPro Agreed. Somewhere deep inside, Albert was a decent man. As he aged, he became rather kind and likeable. This trait is explored much more extensively in the novel; he and Celie become close, affectionate friends as the years go by, and he even asked her to get remarried.

Right… I mean, look at what he did at the end of the movie to reunite Celie and Nettie.

part of me was kind of miffed that a man who did such horrible, hateful things was partially redeemed in the end.

I loved that movie, but I too was somewhat baffled by that fact. The only thing I can think of is that he felt like he was punishing Celie more, by having the letters saved under the floor boards. Because then he had to think about it all the time and know that he was punishing her. If he had simply thrown them away, he wouldn’t have been thinking about it all the time. So in a sense he was punishing both of them, himself and Celie, because he had to live with the thought of his awful deed, every single day. Thank goodness he did, though, because the scene where Celie found the letters was beautiful.

I loved Oprah Winfrey in that movie!

and he hid the letters under his porn and in a box full of money, so he had to go in there fairly often you’d assume…