Double Consciousness In Audre Lorde

According to W.E.B. DuBois, “double consciousness” is the “sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring ones soul by a tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” (DuBois 5). In other words, it is the self that a person views themselves as, compared to the self that comes from the outside perspective, where the person viewing it rather believe in the outside view. This idea connects to gender stereotypes, how women cannot see themselves as equal in society because they are often portrayed as being voiceless, lonely, or dependent on men. Despite such stereotypical views that separate women from men, Audre Lorde “challenges her feminist community to deliver a collective voice ale to attend

After dealing with “double-consciousness” of being seen as having no voice, Janie’s choice to speak up against Joe Stark’s stereotypical view on women leads to feminist empowerment, where she breaks his gender identity by emasculating him and wounding his pride, as she gains self-determination and, most importantly, the freedom of

From this point, “double-consciousness” is obliterated when a man is unexpectedly voiced by a woman in front of society, resulting in his masculinity and pride being destroyed. This is evident in the story when Janie speaks up against Joe Starks when he continues to humiliate and degrade her in public. Janie breaks Joe Stark’s gender identity when she “took the middle of the floor to talk right into Jody’s face, and that was something that hadn’t been done before…‘Hmph! Talkin’ about me lookin’ old! When you pull down yo’ britches, you look lak de change uh life” (Hurston 78-79). Before Janie speaks up against Joe Starks, he is upset with her because she did not cut the tobacco correctly. When he ridicules her in front of the townspeople, she is fed up because anything she does is not perfect for him and he always downgrades her. For the first time, she lashes out at him. Brian Norman agrees when “Hurston turns to nature to compare Janie to the mule of the world in Their Eyes were watching God...In this way, Walker is able to address—ad protest—suffering, injustice, and division while at the same time lay the groundwork for an earthbound collective vision that can analyze and refuse sociological, historical, and political divisions” (Norman 127). From this point, Joe Starks’s gender identity is destroyed because his pride and masculinity are broken by Janie’s voice