It’s been over eight decades since the release of Their Eyes Were Watching God and the novel is still a critically acclaimed novel in our society. With the utilization of the Southern dialect, depiction of serious themes such as spousal abuse, and the use of an African-American female protagonist that develops as a character throughout the novel, Zora Neale Hurston has revolutionized African-American literature and made a standstill mark in classical reading to present day. With such a revolutionary novel, however, comes controversy and debate specifically about characterizing Their Eyes Were Watching God as a feminist novel or not. Over the course of the book, Zora Neale Hurston ties in three major ideas that can be explained through a feminist lens. They are the act of speaking, seeking horizons, and confidence to deviate from traditional roles, and i believe those three major ideas are what truly captivate the essence of this novel being characterized as feminist.
With my stance on this book being feminist, there are obviously opposing Views that come along with that, believing that the book doesn’t show enough distinct detail to be categorized as feminist. For instance, in a book analysis of the novel, Honors College scholar Meagan Ruliffson talks about how it’s difficult to perceive the book as feminist, saying, “Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, it is hard to see Janie or her interactions with her community as feminist. Wherever Janie may reside, her status as a black working-class woman places her at the very bottom of the social hierarchy The men objectify her, her lover beats her, her community misunderstands her, and she fails to resist.” In another book, analysis called ‘Heroism or Weakness: Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God’, award-winning Bakersfield College student Caitlin Stone calls Janie ‘fascinating‘, yet goes on to say “Janie finds some independence in Hurston’s book, but she is marred by the fact that she always has to have a man to define her.
Despite the seeming liberty that she experiences near the end of the novel, Janie only lives life and has adventures through the dominance of a male figure. She is not a heroine of feminism but an example of weakness because her husbands ultimately control and directs her actions” While there is truthful reasoning when it comes to some aspects of their analysis of the novel, what they didn‘t take to consideration was how the oppression made Janie develop as a woman, which therefore makes it a novel containing feminist themes. When the characteristics of a feminist comes to mind, you typically think of a strong female with a mind or voice that defies suppression Janie’s literal voice and ability to speak represent her freedom and empowerment as a woman. With Logan and especially with Jody, her voice is suppressed, but with Tea Cake she is able to have more free expression.
After essentially being forced into marriage with Logan Killicks, Janie leaves him when she meets Jody Sparks, this would be practically unheard of in the 1930’s: a woman simply picking up and leaving her husband behind, However, Janie is searching for her true self, and for her life partner, and she’s not going to let any man stop her. She soon finds herself in a very similar situation with Jody, seen as the novel progresses. One might expect her to up and leave, just as she did with Logan. But you need to take cultural context into consideration: she is a woman, a black woman, who has no rights to speak of in this society, She imagined that her life with Joe would be free and easy, St to some extent it is. That is the financial aspect of the relationship. Joe is a successful man, and Janie acquires the material benefits of that success. Jody’s suppression of Janie‘s power of free speech is seen throughout her marriage at the beginning of the book.
For instance, as stated on page 53, ”Janie loved the conversation and sometimes she thought up good stories on the mule, but Joe had forbidden her to indulge. He didn’t want her talking after such trashy people”. Specifically in this quote, Jody refuses to let her speak out and tell stories with the rest of the people on the porch. By not letting her use her voice and be natural, he isolates her from people that she would probably choose to spend time with instead of acting like she is above them as the Mayor’s wife. The act of speaking is a standstill example that shows just how much feministic elements are used throughout this novel and seen through the portrayal of an African American female as the main character of the book. The horizons represent the distant aspects of the natural world, which Janie is so determined to be in, Throughout her journey in the book, Janie’s main goal is to reach the horizons, so she can be natural and at one with herself.
When reaching this horizon, however, Janie faces trials and tribulations from people that are supposed to show her unconditional love and respect such as her grandmother Nannyt In her quest to get Janie married to a suitable man. Nanny turns a blind eye to Janie‘s needs, Having lived under the old system of slavery, Nanny’s conception of freedom is one of wealth and idleness. She romanticizes the position of white women and aspires to it; when she cannot achieve this goal in her lifetime, she imposes it on Janie by making her marry a respected landowning black farmer. With her tough love and at times condescending advice, Nanny deceives Janie of the nature of true love, forcing her into a loveless marriage and claiming falsely that marriage entails love. Due to Nanny‘s hardened nature, Janie’s bitterness toward her grandmother is quite evident, as a quote from the novel goes on to say, “She hated her grandmother and had hidden it from herself all these years under a cloak of pity.
She had been getting ready for her great journey to the horizons in search of people; it was important to all the world that she should find them and they find her. But she had been whipped like a cur dog, and run off down a back road after things. It was all according to the way you see things. Some people could look at a mud-puddle and see an ocean with ships. But Nanny belonged to that other kind that loved to deal in scrapsr l-lere Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon 7 for not matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you — and pinched it in to such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her so in the name of love. In the end, Nanny couldn’t suppress Janie‘s outspoken spirit, no matter how hard she tiredr.
She didn’t stay confined to the loveless marriage, and she expanded her own horizons in her own self-development by running away with Jody Sparks and later being much more open in her marriage to Tea Caker No matter the circumstance, Janie made clear that her ability to speak was a form of freedom and she makes clear that her freedom of speech will not be oppressed or limited by any means, As Janie goes from marrying the ‘right’ man deemed by societal means to the right man for her own personal means, she gains the confidence to deviate from a Southern women‘s traditional role From the time when Nanny held her back to when she walks back into town, Janie has obtained the confidence to ignore tradition, regardless of people‘s opinions or other consequences, From seemingly meaningless actions such as wearing overalls over the traditional feminine attire of a dress to essential decisions such as leaving the loveless marriage that bound her with Logan Killicks, Janie makes her mark to anyone reading this novel that she will defy society’s standards and live independently by the standards that she sets for herself in life.
She doesn’t care about outside opinions as seen in the novel when she wears the overalls and the women of the porch gossip about her attire, saying, “Whe doin coming back here in dem overhalls? Can’t she find no dress to put on?—Where‘s dat blue satin dress she left in here-Betcha he off wid some gal so young she ain‘t even got no hairs-why she don’t stay in her class?” This scene occurs when Janie comes back to her hometown after burying Tea Cake. She does not act like a traditional woman at this time period should and the best part is that she has no care in the world about her defiance of societal roles regarding her gender. While judging what Janie has done and what she is currently wearing, the women on the porch are horrified and appalled by her explicit disregards of their ideals, Janie, however, is confident and knows that she is who she wants to be, a natural woman.
With her long and swinging hair, Janie refuses to abide with society’s expectations and will not even pretend to go along with it by dressing the part. She is utterly and completely at one with herself and does not care about what society thinks which gives her the confidence to deviate from her traditional role as a southern woman, Hurston used this seminal work in African-American literature to exemplify feminist themes with her use of a strong female protagonist, which therefore has made it a stand still work in women‘s literature for over eight decades. Janie has shown as a woman with a voice big and bold enough to overpower means of oppression that she has faced throughout the novel and with her bold acts of speaking, seeking of personal horizons, and confidence to defy traditional roles, Janie has made clear to masses from generation to generation that she is an empowering character that stands for feminist beliefs.
