Feminism in Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Skylar

“She had found a jewel down inside herself and she had wanted to walk where people could see her and gleam it around. But she had been set in the market-place to sell.”- Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God. 

Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God offers a unique perspective on what it means to be a Black woman during the early 20th century. Taking place in Eatonville, Florida, the novel follows Janie Crawford through three marriages. It explores a woman’s struggle for self-expression, independence, and agency in a world that seeks to silence her. While these themes are present, the way they exist in Hurston’s novel may not reflect traditional feminist movements. Rather than engaging in overt activism or aligning with 20th-century feminist organizations, many of which excluded Black women, Janie’s journey is a deeply personal and internal fight for self-definition. Through her experiences in love and loss, she challenges societal expectations of Black womanhood to carve out her own space. 

The feminist portrayal in Their Eyes Were Watching God isn’t a direct critique on patriarchy, nor does it explore the dismantling of patriarchal structures. Instead, Feminism manifests through Janie’s reclamation of her voice and autonomy. She learns, by self-realization, to reject the roles that others have imposed upon her and embrace her desires and sense of self.

When Janie is sixteen, her grandmother, Nanny, marries her off to Logan Killicks. In a conversation with Nanny, Janie’s developing ideas about love are curtailed by Nanny’s insistence on the benefits of marriage. Janie believes that love should come before marriage, while Nanny believes that love does not matter in a marriage, only stability and security. In her partnership with Logan, Janie realizes that her marriage won’t be centered around love, but servitude. Logan expects Janie to work the land with him; he disregards her desires and reduces her person to a laborer. Understanding how a life dictated by others will not fulfill her, Janie finds a man who seemingly offers that freedom: aspiring businessman Joe Starks. 

Joe Starks whisks Janie away with promises of a better life. He, unlike Logan, is full of ambition and Janie is excited by this; he’s an escape from Logan’s confining ways. Initially, it seems that Joe values Janie as a partner. However, Janie comes to understand that Joe’s vision for their future centers around his power. As the mayor of Eatonville, Joe positions Janie as a trophy wife in his store. She is an extension of his success. Joe deters Janie from engaging with the men on the porch, forcing her to be subservient. Janie endures this suppression for years until, in a moment of defiance, she publicly challenges him, asserting herself in a way she never has before. This moment, though brief, marks a turning point in her journey toward reclaiming her voice. Eventually, Joe dies from kidney failure. His death comes as a relief to Janie as she finally feels unburdened from the control he exerted over her life. In his final moments, Janie confronts him, refusing to be silenced any longer. His death is the beginning of Janie’s self discovery. Shortly after, Janie meets and is courted by Tea Cake, a traveling musician who arrives in Eatonville to watch a baseball game. 

Tea Cake is Janie’s final love and is the only marriage that has companionship, adventure, and laughter. Together, they leave Eatonville and she experiences a love that isn’t controlling, but one that has space for her choices. However, Tea Cake is still a man that is characterized by ideologies in the 20th century. He continues to carry remnants of patriarchal ideals, which are evident in his displays of dominance. Yet, this marriage is the first time when Janie is able to exist as herself freely. Nearing the end of their relationship, Tea Cake contracts rabies and Janie is forced to shoot him to protect herself. Tea Cake’s death is what finalizes her independence; Janie is now truly on her own, no longer defined by a relationship. By choosing to protect herself, Janie asserts her autonomy and fully realizes her self-worth and agency.

Janie’s ultimate act of feminism is finding her voice. Since she was sixteen, Janie has been restricted to what the world wants her to be, from her grandmother to even her freest relationship. Through it all, Janie refuses to be confined. She leaves Logan to find someone better. She refuses to remain silent for Joe. She chooses to protect herself from Tea Cake. In the end she returns to Eatonville with her head held high. Janie is a woman who has embraced her own identity. She’s found peace within herself, one that does not factor in societal expectations.

Returning to the quote, Janie’s “jewel” represents her identity, voice, and self-worth. Though the world tries to place her in a marketplace to be sold, whether through marriage, societal expectations, or male dominance, she refuses to be owned. 

Janie’s story remains a powerful feminist narrative, especially for Black women, because it reflects a struggle that is both personal and universal: the right to define oneself. Zora Neale Hurston crafted a protagonist who, despite the constraints of her time, finds a way to live life on her own terms. Their Eyes Were Watching God presents feminism as self-actualization rather than political ideologies. 

Citation: 

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006