Beyond the Veil: Their Eyes Were Watching God Research Paper
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character Janie experiences three different marriages during the 1930’s that affect her free will in different ways. Her first two marriages limited and influenced her self-image, her speech, and her ideal relationship within the marriage. However, the marriage that most negatively affected all three of these aspects, and lasted the longest, was her second marriage to Joe Starks. The first aspect, Janie’s self-image, is dealt with in several ways. When Joe Starks first meets Janie, he flatters her by remarking upon her appearance.
“You behind a plow! You ain’t got no mo’ business wid uh plow than uh hog is got wid uh holiday! You …show more content…
The next major time we see him affecting her self-image, is shortly after when they arrive in Eatonville. He shows Janie off to the townspeople soon after the store has opened. In order to secure her place as the peerless wife of the mayor, he has her dress up so as to look better than any other woman in the town. “He didn’t mean for nobody else’s wife to rank with her (Hurston 41).” However his attempt to control her appearance does not end there. Later, when Joe Starks sees Walter admiring and touching Janie’s hair, he demands Janie to hide it under a head-rag. “This business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it. Her hair was NOT going to show in the store…She was there in the store for him to look at, not those others (Hurston 55).” Joe Starks has taken control of her appearance in both how she shows off and how she hides (Sparknotes). Yet, he does not stop there. As Joe Starks ages, he takes his insecurities out on Janie, constantly insulting her appearances in front of others, such as during the incident with tobacco plug. “Don’t stand dere rollin’ yo’ pop eyes at me wid yo’ rump hangin’ nearly to yo’ knees (Hurston 78)!” In order to try and make Janie not think about how he looks as he ages, he reflects his own insecurities onto her and attacks how she looks (Shmoop). In the end, Joe Starks spends a good part of his marriage to Janie swaying her …show more content…
Yet again, Joe attempts to prevent Janie from having a voice among the people when he demands that she does not join in with the townspeople’s conversations outside the shop. “Janie loved the conversation and sometimes she thought up good stories on the mule, but Joe had forbidden her to indulge. He didn’t want her talking after such trashy people (Hurston 53-54).” The effects of Joe’s imposition on Janie’s voice is seen again when Joe asks for Janie to fetch his other pair of shoes.
“Janie came back out front and sat own. She didn’t say anything and neither did Joe. But after a while he looked down at his feet and said, "Janie, Ah reckon you better go fetch me dem old black gaiters. Dese tan shoes sets mah feet on fire. Plenty room in ‘em, but they hurts regardless."
She got up without a word and went off for the shoes. A little war of defense for helpless things was going on inside her. People ought to have some regard for helpless things. She wanted to fight about it. "But Ah hates disagreement and confusion, so Ah better not talk. It makes it hard tuh git along (Hurston