In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurstom engages with expectations of women in the early 20th century. She pushes back against what is expected of women to show a different perspective about women being independent. Hurston illustrates the protagonist, Janie Crawford’s transformation from a woman pressured to follow gender norms set upon her to an independent and self-asserted female. Hurston uses Janie’s clothing to represent the transformation. In the beginning of the book, Hurston uses clothing imagery to display the beginning of Janie’s engagement with gender stereotypes.This is shown when Janie runs away from her husband, Logan Killicks, after her dream of love and happiness begins to fade. Before Janie took action, the scene was described by saying, “The morning road air was like a new dress” (32).
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By acknowledging that the time of day is morning, it shows that it is a new day, meaning that Janie can now have a new hope or dream in which she doesn’t need other people’s opinions to weigh down who she wants to be. The “new dress” represents the norm that women typically wear. Janie is imagining a new life, however, she can’t imagine a new life outside of the norms she was used to. When Janie decided to “(untie) and (fling)” her apron that was tied around her waist, she is showing that she wants to break free of stereotypes that she has had to face while married to Logan (32). The apron in which Janie was wearing exposes the well-known stereotype that women belong in a kitchen. By untying the apron, Janie breaks free of the stereotype, allowing her to be herself as a more independent person. Janie is leaving the confines of the kitchen to reach the road, a wide open space. This transformation shows that Janie begins to find independence by not following the
By acknowledging that the time of day is morning, it shows that it is a new day, meaning that Janie can now have a new hope or dream in which she doesn’t need other people’s opinions to weigh down who she wants to be. The “new dress” represents the norm that women typically wear. Janie is imagining a new life, however, she can’t imagine a new life outside of the norms she was used to. When Janie decided to “(untie) and (fling)” her apron that was tied around her waist, she is showing that she wants to break free of stereotypes that she has had to face while married to Logan (32). The apron in which Janie was wearing exposes the well-known stereotype that women belong in a kitchen. By untying the apron, Janie breaks free of the stereotype, allowing her to be herself as a more independent person. Janie is leaving the confines of the kitchen to reach the road, a wide open space. This transformation shows that Janie begins to find independence by not following the