Their Eyes Were Watching God- Gender Roles (yay!)

Gender roles, and independence, and death, oh my! 

As with any major literature work, the roles gender play in a novel often enriches their overall meaning in the work and Their Eyes Were Watching God is no exception. 

With every marriage, Janie's role as a women can be investigated. In her marriages with Logan and Jody, they both clear expectation to define their relationship. She is expected to be obedient and follow their order, or else they will retaliate. Even in her marriage with Jody, there is this idea of control, While building his town in Eatonville, Janie is almost a side note rather than a person. The townspeople envy her not because of her own personal traits, but because she is the wife of the wealthy builder of the town.

There is also a symbol that represents this idea of gender and make dominance. Jody forces Janie to keep her beautiful, long hair tied up. Her hair is powerful and helps with Janie self identity. When the hair is tied up, this symbolizes Jody's dominant males presence and how he controls Janie.

However, with Tea Cake, we finally see this idea of mutual respect, something that is absent from her previous marriages. It is through this marriage that she discovers her self independence. Sometimes it is when one person is placed in a situation with another person that they are truly able to find themselves.