Masculinity In Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God reveals the role of masculinity as well as femininity in one’s life. Janie’s various relationships develop her sense of femininity, as the different men who she becomes involved with all possess different masculine traits. The progression from Logan to Jody to Tea Cake allows Janie to find her own feminine identity due to the different hardships she endures throughout her relationship with the three men. The vast difference in characteristics of the three men emphasizes the role that masculinity plays in a consensual, reciprocal relationship, and what ideal reciprocity looks like. While men typically exude power through control and influence, women tend to find strength through inner voice and self-discovery. As a result, the men and women in Janie’s life influence her growth and development as a woman and in turn, the women reflect the varying nature of those who can be vulnerable, desire stability, and find power through their internal voice. Janie’s first true exposure to a masculine character comes during her first marriage to Logan Killicks. Logan is the first grown man who Janie interacts with romantically and Janie is unaware of a man’s role in a marriage. Janie has also disconnected with Logan and is unable to

Janie’s mother first signifies the vulnerability that women can often suffer from. At age seventeen Janie’s mother gets raped by her school teacher and after giving birth to Janie abandons the baby and disappears. As a result, Janie’s mother represents the harsh reality that many women of the time period faced with the dominating nature of men (Kitch 69). Janie’s mother ultimately makes the decision to leave Jody with Nanny because she does not know what to do with her newborn baby. Janie’s mother thereby reflects the often vulnerable nature of