When Janie sees the fabulously dressed Jody Starks for the first time, her dream of love turns into a reality. However, Jody and Janie’s relationship was power-dominated by Jody when he became the mayor of Eatonville. The book describes Janie’s first impression of Jody as “…a cityfied, stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that didn’t belong in these parts.’ (Hurston 27).
Jody began talking to Janie about his aspirations in life; he wanted to make his mark on this world. Telling Janie he had money saved up, Jody says “You ain’t never knowed what it was to be treated lak a lady and Ah wants to be de one tuh show yuh.” (Hurston 29). Janie found a man that promised to give her everything she wants, so she goes and marries Jody Starks. Being a jealous man, he ordered Janie to put her beautiful hair in rags because other men were looking at her. The townsfolk begin to notice Jody’s domination, saying, “Whut make her keep her head tied up lak some ole ‘oman round de store? Nobody couldn’t git me tuh tie no rag on mah head if Ah had hair lak dat.” (Hurston 49). Maybe he skeered some de rest of us mens might touch it round dat store….” (Hurston 50).
Jody also restricted who Janie could talk to and what she could say. All Janie wanted to do was go out and hear the conversations the townsfolk were having outside of her and Jody’s store, but he wouldn’t allow her participation in their talk out on the porch of the store she worked at. Jody’s reasoning was that ” He didn’t want her talking after such trashy people.” (Hurston 54). However, as time passed in their relationship, Janie began to stand up for herself and fought back. When Jody passes away, Janie became independent and began to re-discover herself as a woman.
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After Jody, Janie felt she didn’t need to be tied down in a marriage; she was enjoying her freedom. While she was alone, she gained experience and wisdom, and overall she grew to love herself even more. She ran Jody’s store by herself, and that’s how Janie met Vergible Woods (better known as Tea Cake). Right from the start, Tea Cake showed Janie respect and treated he like an equal. Their first interaction was filled with flirtation and Janie felt comfortable. When Tea Cake said to Janie “How about playin’ you some checkers? You looks hard tuh beat.” (Hurston 95), she knew he was different. Tea Cake made her feel appreciated and treated her the way she wanted. Although her friends warned her about being with a man as young and poor as Tea Cake, Janie finally feels like she has found true love.
No longer feeling uncertain about this new relationship, Janie falls head over heels for Tea Cake. As they began their life together, “…Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love.” (Hurston 128). They then get married and move to the Everglades. Their bond grows stronger every day; as Tea Cake heads to work but would leave to visit Janie because he missed her so much. “..Tea Cake took to popping in at the kitchen door at odd hours…
Then often around two o’clock he’d come home and tease and wrestle with her for a half hour and slip on back to work.” (Hurston 132). After this continued for a while, Janie decided to join him in the fields so they could work together. While in the fields with Tea Cake, “Janie learned what it felt like to be jealous.” (Hurston 126). A female co-worker began flirting with Tea Cake and Janie became upset. When she angrily confronted Tea Cake, the anger soon turned into love as he told her, “Whut would Ah do wid dat lik chunk of a woman wid you around? She ain’t good for nothin’ exceptin’ tuh set up in uh corner by de kitchen stove and bread wood over her head. You’se something tuh make uh man forgit tug git old and forgit tuh die.” (Hurston 138). Even though the ending of their relationship was a traumatic incident, Tea Cake was a much more positive influence on Janie than Jody was.
In Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie struggles to find her true identity and what she wants in life. She gains experience through her marriages; even if it was rough or came to a tragic end. Janie became the woman she was through the trials and struggles of her relationships. Learning that following someone else’s dream isn’t the way to go, Janie found that money and status didn’t need to be prioritized. So through her marriage with Tea Cake, Janie had true love and happiness, and that’s all she could ask for in the end.
