Compare And Contrast Love And Marriage In Their Eyes Were Watching God

Not One, Three Marriages Does love, marriage, and happily ever after actually exist? Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God explores the idea of love and marriage. The main character, Janie sees “her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone” (Hurston 8). She is on search of the romantic love that she experiences in nature as a young girl. Each uniquely different, Janie’s three marriages share many of the same qualities. Janie’s first marriage, to the much older Logan Killicks, is not one that she desires. Nanny, Janie’s grandmother, arranges the marriage so that Janie has protection and financial security. “Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it protection”

Unlike Logan, Jody not only wants to spoil Janie, he does. Jody buys Janie the best money can buy such as new clothes of silk and wool. Then he builds the finest house in town with two stories, porches, and big white columns out front. Materialistically, Janie has everything she could desire. “[Jody] Starks solidifies his status as a big man when he becomes Eatonville’s mayor” (Campbell 66). Jody’s role as the mayor is an important one as he is always off talking to the townsfolks and fixing things. It is not long before Janie begins to feel the strain on her marriage and confronts Jody about it: “It jus’ looks lak it keeps us in some way we ain’t natural wid one ‘nother… and Ah feels lak Ah’m jus markin’ time” (Hurston 46). Janie hopes Jody’s role as mayor will soon be over but, he assures her “[he] ain’t even started good” (Hurston 46). Jody has big plans and ideas for the community with no intention of stepping down as mayor. This upsets Janie and “instead of sharing her husband’s glory and success, … she feels cold and lonely” (Randall 24). Jody keeps Janie on a high pedestal as if she is too good to associate with the common townsfolk. The towns people often sit around the store telling stories,