Though a person may strive for individuality as well as relationships, the constraints that come with the love may act as a fetter causing the other to lose themselves. The 1991 poem “A Woman is Not a Potted Plant” by Alice Walker and the 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston both involve a woman wanting to be loved and free while struggling to find a balance between the two. Since autonomy and constraint conflict, Janie struggles to find herself under Nanny’s authority; her relationships end due to her husband’s insecurities; consequently, her love for Tea Cake makes her reliant on him. Janie, the novel's main character, begins discovering her individuality and sexuality at a young age but is shut down by her grandmother,
…show more content…
These lines promote the idea of a woman needing stability and “homely confinement” to be considered a person. Following this narrative of security leading to a good life, Nanny, Janie’s parental figure, forces her to marry Logan Killicks at a young age. Nanny says, “Tain’t Logan Killicks. Ah, wants you to have, baby, it’s protection” (Hurston 15). In wanting to protect Janie and set her up for success, she strips her of her childhood and a chance to find out who she is and loves. Nanny thinks that by living through Janie vicariously and giving her the life she couldn’t have, she is displaying her adoration for her granddaughter. Through her writing Walker communicates the concept of women being used instead of loved, Janie’s husbands apply to this because their idea of “love” is used to make her feel small to appease their insecurities. Walker writes, “her leaves trimmed to the contours of her sex” (lines 8-10). This statement indicates that a woman is only as good as what she can offer, as was presented in Janie’s first two marriages. In the first marriage, Janie tries to find a way to love Logan despite being forced into the
These lines promote the idea of a woman needing stability and “homely confinement” to be considered a person. Following this narrative of security leading to a good life, Nanny, Janie’s parental figure, forces her to marry Logan Killicks at a young age. Nanny says, “Tain’t Logan Killicks. Ah, wants you to have, baby, it’s protection” (Hurston 15). In wanting to protect Janie and set her up for success, she strips her of her childhood and a chance to find out who she is and loves. Nanny thinks that by living through Janie vicariously and giving her the life she couldn’t have, she is displaying her adoration for her granddaughter. Through her writing Walker communicates the concept of women being used instead of loved, Janie’s husbands apply to this because their idea of “love” is used to make her feel small to appease their insecurities. Walker writes, “her leaves trimmed to the contours of her sex” (lines 8-10). This statement indicates that a woman is only as good as what she can offer, as was presented in Janie’s first two marriages. In the first marriage, Janie tries to find a way to love Logan despite being forced into the