Connection to Their Eyes Were Watching God
The Feminist Literary Criticism is used to analyze literature with the intention of pointing out cases of sexual discrimination against women, which often occurs in a male dominated society. The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is a notable work of literature that could clearly be looked at through a feminist lens, as the main character Janie is constantly having her freedom restricted by the men in her life. Janie’s main struggle throughout the novel is to become free from the control of others, even though she lives in a society that believes women are to be treated as the property of men.
Janie’s challenges are laid out for her in the beginning of the novel when her grandmother forces her to marry Logan Killicks. It isn’t “Logan Killicks [she] wants [Janie] to have, it’s protection” (15). Her grandmother acts as a obstacle in her life when she forces Logan upon Janie. Her grandmother demonstrates the traditional view of society at that time, which is that a woman’s only goal in life is to find a husband that will take care of her. Janie, who at this time does not know that her grandmother’s advice is wrong, begins to explore her sexuality and begins to form dreams for herself. As she sits under the pear tree, “She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. So this was a marriage! She had been summoned to behold a revelation” (11). She is surrounded by feelings of love and romance and trusts her grandmother’s words.
Time passes, and she finds that she needs to find happiness somewhere else, so she marries Jody. Janie demonstrates her power and desire for controlling her own life by leaving Logan, but at the same time, she has not yet fully understood what it is that brings her happiness. She still has the same mindset, instilled upon her by her grandmother, that a woman is to be fulfilled when she has found the perfect husband. Jody, like Logan, demonstrates the sexist male view in society at that time by treating Janie more like a prize, and less like a person. He prevents her from expressing her ideas publicly when he tells the town, “Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home” (43). This is one of the most blatant examples of stereotyping women, which were common in the South during this time. Jody also expresses the male feeling of superiority against women when he states, “Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don’t think none theirselves... You see ten things and don’t understand one” (71). He doesn’t believe Janie has anything of significance to offer society, and she begins to lose her dreams of achieving happiness. She is described as having “no more blossomy openings dusting pollen over her man, neither any glistening young fruit where the petals used to be” (72).
At this point in time, she doubts her grandmother’s advice, and begins to realize that it might not be the right way to live her life. She begins to have strong feelings of injustice, which leads to her desire for finding her own path to happiness. She begins to break away from the traditional role placed on her by society, and expresses her thoughts to other people. After she experiences this change, “Janie did what she had never done before, that is, thrust herself into the conversation” (75). By speaking publicly, she completely goes against the restrictions made by Jody and decides to express herself. This is a large turning point in the novel because she has made great progress in being able to assert herself, and is discovering the things that she truly wants out of her life. Another sign of her growing self-confidence and sense of self expression is shown when Jody dies. After his death, “She tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair. The weight, the length, the glory was there” (87). Now that Jody is dead, she no longer feels a controlling male force in her life, and she has the freedom and power to present herself the way that she wants to.
Janie realizes that this is what she has been looking for all along, which is shown when she thinks to herself, “This freedom feeling was fine. These men didn’t represent a thing she wanted to know about” (90). Though Janie has come to many realizations in her life, her journey is not yet complete. She meets her last lover, Tea Cake, who completely reassures her feelings of self-confidence and individualism. Tea Cake lets Janie do what she wants, and be the woman that she wants to be. After they are married, it says that Tea Cake “drifted into sleep and Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love” (128). By living with Tea Cake, Janie is fully at one with herself, and knows that she has the power, and ability to speak her mind. Tea Cake also taught her that she can find love, and still be the person that she wants to be. Janie realizes that it isn’t men that were the main conflict in her life, rather it was their sexist attitude, as well as the sexual discrimination prevalent in society. But by living through all of these difficult experiences, Janie knows that she has the strength to overcome any opposition that she may face.