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Janie's 3 abusive relationships

For the most part, I think that we can all agree that Their Eyes Were Watching God is an extremely progressive novel that explores female independence in the early 1900s. However, Janie is abused in each of her 3 relationships. Hurston really plays each of these instances down, which raises some questions about the characters and society in the early 1900s.

Janie's first abusive encounter is with Logan Killucks, right before she runs away with Joe. "'Ah'll take holt uh dat ax and come in dere and kill yuh!'", exclaims Logan when Janie is unwilling to help him shovel manure (Hurston 30). It's a really short phrase, and you could miss it if you're not reading carefully. However, Logan's off-handed comment really shakes Janie up, and this is the final straw - that same day, she runs off with Joe towards a new life.

Janie is abused emotionally by Joe, and it has a long-term impact on her view of herself and her role in society. Joe's abusive behavior appears throughout their marriage, as he restricts her behavior and her social interactions. When Janie finally calls him out for it, he tries to guilt her for his insecurities and then dies (seemingly because of Janie).

Lastly, we have the strange scene where Tea Cake hits Janie. This scene feels super out of place, especially considering the behavior we had seen from Tea Cake up to this point. A common thread between all of these abuses in Janie's relationships is her husband feeling insecure. Logan admits immediately after his death threat that he's worried about not being good enough for Janie. Joe is insecure because of Janie's beauty and youthfulness, and Tea Cake feels threatened because Janie has so many suitors.

I think there's a pretty simple message that Hurston gets across by showing us these abuses: jealousy and insecurity can bring out the worst in people, even people who seem perfect (like Tea Cake).

Comments

  1. Anya Kaplan-Hartnett19 November 2019 at 15:26

    I agree that all three of Janie's relationships have abusive undertones, though her relationship with Tea Cake is by far the most solid and loving partnership in the novel. That's why it seems so out of place for Tea Cake to hit Janie. He's supposed to be the one good husband, so why is he physically abusing Janie? However, there are also scenes where Janie tries to hurt Tea Cake (for example, when she finds him with another girl in the fields). Does the fact that they can both be physically violent with each other make the partnership seem more equal or just wackier?

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  2. Joshua24 November 2019 at 17:19

    Even though all three of Janie's relationships were problematic, I think Hurston still shows Janie mature as the book progresses. After Jody dies, she doesn't try to remarry at all until she's charmed by Tea Cake. Her relationship with Tea Cake seems to be the most healthy and the one she's happiest in, and I think she learned what she truly wants from a marriage through her first two. So while all of her marriages were abusive, I think Hurston shows how Janie grows from each one and becomes stronger.

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  3. Niiico26 November 2019 at 17:51

    I really hadn't thought of the historical implications of these relationships. It is kinda interesting how all of the husbands were insecure about their hold on Janie. I'm not sure whether Hurston did this as a commentary on society at the time, but if she did I think it was a good impression. They all feel threatened by Janie's (independence? ability to do things?) yeah. People were toxic back then

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