Janie's Pride And Prejudice Essay

For many literary critics, the novel is an authentic feminist work. This is understandable

since the author herself is a well-known liberal feminist and an advocate of feminist

individualism. Nonetheless, even without knowing the author’s background, we can certainly

acknowledge the novel’s feminist tendencies. The novel is not only the story of a woman; it is

also the first important novel written by a black woman. For a start, the novel critically describes

the ways in which men (or the whole patriarchal system in general) hold down and confine

women. In the novel, Janie is forced to marry an old farmer named Logan out of poverty. Logan

often treats her like a mule. He does not care about her welfare. In most cases, he refuses to let

Janie go out of

Secondly, the novel upholds the value of

feminine autonomy – the self-confidence to deviate from the traditional roles of women. Even

though Janie silently submits to Joe’s wishes, she continues to dream. After 20 years of

marriage, Janie openly criticizes her husband. Their marriage ends abruptly. On his deathbed,

Janie continues to rebuke him, ever more mindful of the way her husband had treated her.

Finally, Janie is free – free to pursue her dreams. And thirdly, the novel reveres the spirituality

and eventual rebirth of the female species – a semantic critique of the ideal of natural beauty.

Janie is now old and physically weak – an old, ugly wretched woman as Joe used to call her. But

deep inside, she is as beautiful as ever. She possesses a deep sense of enlightenment, of natural

oneness with the things around her. Her romanticism is reinforced by her deep spirituality. This

is the inner beauty that Hurston seeks to portray in the novel.

Hurston also uses a variety of symbols in the story. One such symbol is the pear tree. One

can arguably state that it symbolizes Janie’s blossoming sexuality and her eventual