Their Eyes Were Watching God Gender Analysis

One’s past usually determines how one will live their life. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston shapes an unusual origin for Janie to demonstrate how one’s upbringing can influence race and gender roles. Hurston deliberately sculpts Janie’s origins to explore and influence the events presented in the novel. Her upbringing is a representation of the time period; Both Janie and her mother were conceived by rape. Her maternal bloodline is black whereas her paternal bloodline is white. As such, her appearance consists of light brown skin and long, straight hair. These qualities are emphasized greatly throughout the novel. Being an individual of both races, Janie’s physical appearance brings conflict between these two groups of

Evidently, Janie must struggle with keeping a balance between accepting her mixed features that bring racial complications but she must also deal with her place regarding gender roles. As a mixed individual, Janie certainly has a complicated life, especially when in comes to balancing between expectations set by Nanny and her peers while aspiring for her own desires. When Nanny discovers about Janie’s sexual awakening by means of her secret admirer, she decides that Janie has transformed from a young girl to a woman, and promptly arranges for her to marry a much older man. Janie disapproves of this, but Nanny has good intentions for doing this. As a former slave, she believes that black women are extremely oppressed and treated as undesirable. Therefore, she wants Janie to marry the rich Logan Killicks for financial security. This demand clashes with Janie’s desire of an idealized version of romantic love -- one that embodies innocence, understanding, and reciprocality. Unfortunately for her, she marries Logan anyways. While he does provide security, he lacks Janie’s romantic vision and tries to make her help around his