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Their Eyes Were Watching God: Misogyny and the themes within, Screenshot…
Their Eyes Were Watching God
: Misogyny and the themes within
Toxic Masculinity in the novel
Sexual assault
Several female characters are exploited by men, including Nanny, Leafy and Janie. Nanny is raped by her white owner, Leafy is raped by her teacher, and Janie is beaten by Jody and Teacake.
A recurring theme is that power is exerted unfairly by male characters.
Unexpectedly, Tea Cake beats Janie to which she is unusually unphased. Her being desensitized to such an act is reflective of how prominent the theme of abuse is in
Their Eyes Were Watching God
: "Being able to whip her reassured him in possession" (167)
Male dominance vs. Female submission
Traditional gender roles are upheld- Hurston explores this theme using fictional characters to reflect how women of colour were treated: Women are consistently disempowered by men.
The way in which Logan Killicks seeks out Janie when she is just a teenager, being a much older man is a reflection of both their wealth and age gap. When they marry, he both threatens and verbally abuses her in order to exert power, which drives Janie away from him.
Sexism
Logan Killicks implies that Janie fails to represent femininity, or who and what a woman "should be". He compares Janie to his last wife.
Hurston refuses to adhere to boundaries of any form- literary or societal which is why
Their Eyes
is such a positive work of modern American fiction, challenging stereotypes and rules surrounding women and their societal place in the 1920s and 30s.
The image of the mule is symbolic, and heavily prevalent in the story, presenting women as victims of a male-dominated society, particularly black women of a working-class background.
Abuse of Power
Violence
Emotional Vs. Physical
Oppression is a recurring theme in the novel- Joe belittles Janie and we see how she becomes silenced and unhappy by her new environment.
"A feeling of coldness and fear took hold of her. She felt far away from things and lonely." (53)
"Janie took the easy way away from a fuss. She didn’t change her mind but she agreed with her mouth. Her heart said, “Even so, but you don’t have to cry about it.” (63)
Janie becomes submissive to the demands of men as a result of her female voice being suppressed.
Joe strikes Janie when he knows his power over both his wife and society is disappearing. This is symbolic of his self indulgent, gluttonous nature. Hurston also depicts the fact that any kind of abuse can become violent, no matter how mild or severe it appears in the beginning.
Joe (Jody) Starks
Relationships
Lack of fulfilment
Janie is shamed for having several partners, ironically by other women at the beginning of the novel, especially for her relationship with Tea Cake who is considerably younger than Janie. Phoebe is the only character willing to hear her story.
Teacake
Justice: Hurston suggests the justice system is corrupt and biased at this time through Janie's fears that she will be found guilty for shooting Tea Cake in an act of self defence- because of her skin colour and her gender.
Hurston presents her audience with a counter-argument to the motif of misogyny (as well as racism) when Janie's trial is passed by a white, male jury.
"And the white women cried and stood around her like a protecting wall and the negroes, with heads hung down, shuffled out and away." (216)
Black men and women who attend Janie's hearing turn against her, including her former friends.
Janie and Teacake
Security and protection
It is possible that Janie's grandmother, as well as a lack of fulfilment and experience of various forms of abuse were influential to Janie's search for the perfect partner. She finds herself in numerous relationships with men of different kinds. However, each of the men have one thing in common, a need for control over Janie.
Janie is vulnerable in the sense that because she is a woman of colour, she must have a man in her life.
Nanny's own background and fears meant that she worried for Janie's future. therefore she urged Janie (against her will) to marry Logan Killicks. This approach, although beneficial from nanny's perspective, leaves Janie unhappy and unfulfilled, in search for another partner, because of her lack of love for, and lack of attraction to Logan.
"Ah wants to see you married right away." (15)
"I don't want no trashy nigger, no breath- and britches, lak Johnny taylor using 'yo' body to wipe his foots on." (15)
Black vernacular dialect: The dialogue Hurston uses is criticised by other writers, particularly male, as being derogatory, and feeding into white derived racial stereotypes. However it is obvious Hurston uses this to serve a specific purpose.
gender roles
Female Autonomy
It is clear Hurston aims to challenge stereotypes surrounding female sexuality and relationships in the novel because of how she characterises Janie and her numerous husbands, and reveals the scrutiny and judgement present in society through the insights of other characters and "town gossip" in this work of modern American fiction.
Such views belittle women, in turn empowering men. It is less frowned upon for men to behave in the same manner, or to have multiple partners.
Racism vs. Misogyny:
Knock-on effects
Mrs turner's character is a prime example of how racism
allows for absurdity, even of those who are oppressed to begin with. She becomes a symbolic character of white-derived, racial stereotyping when she indulges in racist culture, and bad-mouthing black people and their culture as a whole, whilst being a black citizen herself.
"Dey laughs too much and dey laughs too loud. Always singin' ol
nigger songs." (160)
"If it wuzn't for so many black folks it wouldn't be no race problem." (161)
It appears Hurston wrote this novel with The Harlem Renaissance in mind, thus the novel came shortly after the movement. The Harlem Renaissance prevailed in the 1920s which saw an increase of expression regarding culture- this included art and dance. In ways this novel reflects the movement because of how Janie finds expression through voice. Mrs Turner's character symbolises negative white stereotypes, and judgement of the culture.
An image representing the musical culture of the Harlem Renaissance.
When nanny is raped and impregnated, her rapist's wife immediately places blame on the female, black victim, instead of her cheating husband. She also threatens Nanny with a brutal beating.
Although briefly referenced, Nanny herself exerts violence, slapping Janie when she worries Janie will defy her after catching her kissing. This in a sense presents Nanny as hypocritical and misogynistic.
It could be argued that Nanny embodies/ reenacts the violence she has endured before in this scenario, she is the product of a racist society: "She slapped the girl's face violently, and forced her head back so that their eyes met in struggle. With her hand uplifted for the second blow she saw the huge tear that welled up from Janie's heart". (17)
Nanny then acts as though she would never hurt Janie, presenting her as hypocritical: "Yo' nanny wouldn't harm a hair uh yo' head. She don't want nobody else to do it neither if she kin help it." (17)
Janie and Nanny
Slavery
Janie's grandmother Nanny is enslaved, thus exposing her to bodily harm and rape from her white owners, the result of this is that she falls pregnant with Janie's mother Leafy. This harden's Nanny, altering her view on love and marriage, she therefore insists Janie should disregard her true feelings, and marry for security.
Hurston writes in the form of the black vernacular dialect throughout the novel, which appears as a form of protest. She is heavily criticised and labelled "racist" for this style, while she is realistically expressing her female voice and challenging stereotypes of this period of modern American fiction, and of how the female writer "should be".
Hurston uses the symbolic image of the mule in Their Eyes Were Watching God, which is representative of black working-class American women and how they are exploited. It is suggestive of the treatment they are subject to.
Joe Starks' character
Hurston portrays Joe as driven- when he presents his ideas to become mayor. However, his drive becomes greed and it becomes clear he is using Janie to benefit and serve his own needs.
"Ah aimed tuh be a big voice. You oughta be glad, 'cause dat makes uh big woman outa you' (53)
Joe expresses his view on women's place in society by stating that the woman belongs in the home, serving and providing for her husband.
