Their Eyes Were Watching God Feminist Analysis

Zora Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is the story of an African American woman named Janie who lives in the early 1900s, about forty to fifty years after the abolishment of slavery. Because she is the product of rape, her mother took to drinking and abandoned her, forcing her grandmother to raise her. Throughout the novel, Janie battles with the concepts of love and self-worth, often hindered by her grandmother or the community in which she lives. Through the lenses of Janie’s three husband, Hurston explores the development of women (specifically black women) and how they are forced to abandon any kind of optimistic or idealistic dreams. Janie’s first husband is Logan Killicks, an old man who owns 60 acres of land. Nanny arranges this marriage because of her misconstrued idea of what a good life ought to be like. Nanny was holding infant Janie in her arms when slavery was abolished so her perception of success is what she …show more content…
Janie, a still young, naive young woman believes Joe when he promises a care-free life without physical labor. He claims to be “uh man wid principles” but does not indicate to Janie how blatantly sexist he is. Joe “talks in rhymes” to Janie so that she will follow him into a startup town where he soon becomes mayor. Joe says that “[she] ain’t never knowed what it was to be treated lak a lady” (29); unfortunately, to Joe, this means to be treated liked a silenced servant. Seven years into their marriage, Janie still had an artificial image of her and Joe. It was not until he slapped her and belittled her intelligence after she burnt his food that she made a sudden, violent realization. She went to the kitchen to reflect and felt “something fall off the shelf inside her” (72). It was her image of Joe and her perception of their relationship. Here was the true death of Janie’s dream. When Joe died, Janie was