Their Eyes Were Watching God is a 1937 novel by Zora Neale Hurston about the life of African-American woman named Janie Crawford and the three marriages she struggles through. Logan Killicks, her first husband, desires her only as a domestic worker so she runs off with Jody Starks. In Eatonville, Jody becomes mayor but dominates and constrains Janie. After he dies, she marries Tea Cake, whom she is forced to shoot after he contracts rabies. The novel deals with themes of race, love, freedom and femininity.
The novel explores traditional gender roles and the relationship between men and women. Nanny believes that Janie should marry a man not for love but for 'protection' Janie's first two husbands: Logan Killicks and Jody Starks both believe Janie should be defined by her marriage to them. Both men want her to be domesticated and silent. This can be seen when Starks does not allow or believe that Janie is capable of giving a speech in the store. "...Muh 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." Janie is also forbidden from socialising with the men on the porch. Her place is seen as in the home and not out on the porch talking amongst men. Tea Cake is Janie's last husband who treats her as more of an equal than Killicks and Starks did, by talking to her and playing checkers with her. Despite his equal treatment in the beginning, Tea Cake does hit Janie in order to show his possession over her.
Janie is searching for her own identity throughout the novel. She is seen as separated from the other women in the novel who follow the traditions in place and do not find a life independent of men. Janie's womanliness is a source of jealousy for both Starks and Tea Cake who shame her for her looks. Starks orders Janie to cover her hair as other men found it a source of attraction. Similarly Tea Cake is conscious of Janie's lighter skin and her appeal to Mrs. Turner's brother. Janie finds her independence as a woman after the death of Tea Cake. She returns to Eatonville with her hair down and she sits on her own porch chatting with her friend Pheoby. She has overcome the traditional roles of a women by the end of the novel.
Throughout the novel, Hurston vividly displays how African American women are valued, or devalued, in their marital relationships. By doing so, she takes the reader on a journey through Janie's life and her marriages. Janie formed her initial idea of marriage off of a unity she witnessed once between a pear tree and a bee. With this in mind, Janie set herself up for disappoint when it finally came time to marry. From her marriage to Logan Killicks to Tea Cake, Janie's eyes were definitely opened to where she stood as a female in her relationship. Starting with her marriage to Logan, Janie was put in a place where she was expected to work. On top of all the physical labor expected from her, Janie endured physical beatings from her male counterpart. Hoping for more value, Janie decides to leave Logan and run off with Joe Starks. However, in reaction to this decision, she only faced more beating and devaluement. For Joe expected her stay in the home, work in the kitchen, and when she was in public, Janie was expected to cover her hair and avoid conversation with the locals. With one last hope, Janie engaged in a marriage with Tea Cake, a much younger soul, and things finally seemed to look up for her, even though she was still expected to help in the fields and tend to her womanly duties. Overall, throughout her marriages, Janie experienced the hardships that most African American women went through at that time. From the physical labor to the physical beatings, Janie was presented with the life that a woman was expected to live.
Janie is the narrator and protagonist of her own story. She spends the novel seeking a voice for herself which she achieves in the end of her story. Later in her life, Janie is able to sit on her own porch and chat just like the men. Throughout the novel there is a strong use of dialect and colloquial language which reiterates that this is a story of a black woman from the South.
While the novel is written about black people in the South, it is not primarily a book about racism. Nanny is the first character to mention the notion of slavery. "Ah was born back due in slavery so it wasn't for me to fulfil my dreams of whut a woman oughta be and to do. Dat's one of de hold-backs of slavery." The novel, while mentioning the issue of racism between the white and black communities, shows us the treatment of minorities within the black community. Starks is compared to as the master of the plantation due to his huge house in the centre of the town. "The rest of town looked like servants' quarters surrounding the 'big house'. Starks becomes a figure of authority in the town due to his access to money and his determination to create the first black town. However his plans of creating a town which blacks can live as equals creates a hierarchy between the townsfolk. "Us talks about de white man keepin' us down! Shucks! He don't have tuh. Us keeps our own selves down." The divide between the black community is not only seen in Eatonville. When Janie marries Tea Cake and moves to the Everglades she becomes friendly with a woman named Mrs. Turner. Mrs. Turner compliments Janie on her light skin and her Caucasian features. She disagrees with Janie's marriage to Tea Cake, since he is darker skinned with more African features. Mrs. Turner tries to get Janie to leave Tea Cake and marry her brother, Mr. Turner. This results in Tea Cake's jealousy and distrust of Mrs. and Mr. Turner.
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