Janie’s marriage to Joe is strained due to his position as mayor, and she is no longer an individual but the mayor’s wife. She reflects on her pessimism about marriage and how it can bring out faults in people. After her marriage to Jody Starks, Janie realized that equality is important within a marriage and that true love could be found when she married Tea Cake.
Janice’s marriage to Joe is marked by insults and a life of servitude and thankless duty. After Jody’s death, Janie enjoys being lonesome for a change and feels pity for the way life has been mishandled. She reluctantly agrees to marry Logan Killicks, but loses sexual interest in him.
Janie questions whether marriage leads to love and whether it ends cosmic loneliness. She is limited by the repetitive nature of her job and is amused by the townspeople’s conversations on the porch. After a year of marriage, Logan reevaluates Janie’s role as his wife and treats her like a slave.
Jody’s death leads Janie to take off her headscarf and feel free. Her last marriage was to Tea Cake, and she refuses to let Joe manipulate her. Janie believes that love should be based on mutual affection and respect, not forced or arranged.
Janie believes her marriage to Logan will bring her the soundness and safety she wants and that they will grow to love each other. However, her husband, Joe, treats Janie poorly and places her in a subordinate position. Tea Cake and Janie, who stayed with Joe, discuss their lives and question God. When Joe dies, Janie marries Tea Cake, who gives her freedom and cares about her. Janie realizes her marriage to Joe is a sham and that she has no way out. When Joe slaps Janie after his dinner fails to meet his expectations, Janie’s image of Joe tumbles down. She agrees to marry Logan Killicks, a man she does not love. Janie learns from her marriage to Jody Starks that a married couple should see each other as equals. In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie searches for love and learns that love will come naturally after marriage. Through three marriages with Logan, Joe, and Tea Cake, Janie comes to understand her own power as a woman.
📹 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston | Summary & Analysis
Professor Kristen Over of Northeastern Illinois University provides an in-depth analysis of the plot, characters, symbols, themes, …
How does Janie feel about being a widow?
While many women feel weak and insecure after losing their husbands, Janie does not. Janie gains strength from Joe’s death. Janie is strong enough to manage her life and the store despite being lonely. Joes domination may have made Janie stronger. Janie enjoys her freedom. She likes being alone. This freedom felt good. Joes death also helps Janie and Pheoby become friends. Janie can now make friends and socialize with the townspeople. With Joe’s death, Janie has gained freedom. Gold, red, and purple: the colors of secret orders. Joe belonged to several lodges or fraternal orders. Each one has a different ritual to be performed when a member dies. Hurston mentions the Elks band that plays at Joe’s funeral.
Funeral parties often become celebrations when family and friends gather to honor the deceased.
What does Janie think about marriage?
Janie hopes her marriage to Logan will make her happy. She says to her grandmother, “I want to want him sometimes.” Janie and Nanny have different views of marriage. Nanny wants Janie to have a good life.
How did Janie change throughout her marriage?
Janie becomes a woman through her three marriages. In each marriage, she learns, has better relationships, and learns how to live her life. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie learns many lessons and grows up. Her second marriage to Joe Starks was the most formative. Joe was a big part of this, so we can say he was like a parent to Janie. After her last marriage, Janie looks back on her life and is at peace. She learned how to be happy. Janie’s Growth in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.
What are Janie’s ideas about love and marriage?
Janie has an idealistic view of love when she lies under a pear tree. She is young and in love with spring. She thinks marriage is the best way to show love and wonders why she doesn’t have a partner. Janie makes another great sacrifice when she leaves her life of ease in Eatonville to start a new life with Tea Cake. In Eatonville, she was the store owner and the former mayor’s wife. She decides to follow her heart, which leads to her self-actualization with the help of Tea Cake. Janie couldn’t have found herself without Tea Cake. His impact on her lives on even after his death. Janie tells Phoebe, “Love is like the sea.” It’s a moving thing, but it takes shape from the shore it meets. It’s different with every shore. Two things everyone has to do for themselves. “They have to go to God and find out how to live for themselves” (191-92). Janie learns a lot from Tea Cake. He helps her understand life and herself, and makes her independent. Janie fulfills her need for self-actualization by leaving her luxurious life in Eatonville for Tea Cake. Janie’s values about her life and Tea Cake are also shown in her conversation with Phoeby before she leaves Eatonville. Janie and Tea Cake made up their minds to grow. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. In the novel, Janie shows us how women in a male-dominated society had to deal with restraints. Her marriage with Logan Killicks was dull. Her marriage to Joe Starks made her closer to others than to herself. In her last marriage to Vergible Woods, she learned to live on her own. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie goes through many hard times that make her stronger.
What happens in Janie and Joe’s marriage that makes her realize it has truly failed?
Janie realizes her marriage to Joe is a sham but has no way out. When Joe slaps Janie after dinner, Janie’s view of Joe changes. Janie knows she must endure her husband’s abuse.
Why does Janie feel so trapped in her first two marriages?
Why is Janie trapped in her first two marriages? Janie had trouble finding her character. From childhood on, Janie wanted to be free from her husbands.
How does Janie cope with her loveless marriage to Joe?
Janie stuffs her feelings inside. She creates an inner life with her true thoughts and feelings and an outer life where she is an automaton.
How does Janie feel about her husband?
How does Janie feel about her husband? She doesn’t like his head or belly. She also hates his smell in bed. She’s disappointed.
How does Janie feel about marrying again after Joe is gone?
Janie knows she doesn’t love Logan, but she thinks love will come naturally after marriage. The wedding is a big, festive affair, but two months later, Janie visits Nanny to ask for advice. She fears she will never love Logan.
📹 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston | Chapter 17
Professor Kristen Over of Northeastern Illinois University provides an in-depth summary and analysis of Chapter 17 of Zora Neale …
Honestly this is good for a crash course but really misses nearly everything that makes this such a great read. I really recommended that if you’re here because you haven’t the time to read, consider listening to the audiobook available up here. It really is a timeless, wonderful book P.S. I’m here bc I never had to read this for school so I’m wondering what all this extra analysis stuff is 😂