Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie's hair has served as a symbol of her freedom, or lack thereof. Joe made her keep it wrapped up when they were together, because he noticed men staring at it and even trying to touch it. However, once Joe dies, Janie is able to wear her hair down--she is free. But in chapter 11, we have the scene with Tea Cake combing Janie's hair. On one hand, we recognize the freedom Janie now has because of the fact that a man (other than Joe) is able to touch her hair. But on the other hand this scene foreshadows the power Tea Cake will have over her. By power, I don't necessarily mean domineering, cruel, or suppressive power, but rather power over Janie's emotions. The next morning, this foreshadowing begins to manifest itself in Janie's thoughts:
"All the next day in the house and store she thought resisting thoughts about Tea Cake. She even ridiculed him in her mind and was ashamed of the association. But every hour or two the battle had to be fought all over again. She couldn't make him look like just any other man to her.... He was a glance from God" (106).
With Tea Cake now in the picture, Janie begins to lose her freedom in the sense of independence. She is no longer satisfied to be alone because she wants to be with Tea Cake. She falls so deeply in love with him that the power she once had over her own emotions begins to deteriorate, and is replaced with a dependency on Tea Cake and his affection for her.
Agreed! I think that with each new relationship that Janie entered she lost her freedom and voice. Each time she left one husband, she would restrict herself by being bound by another man. Sure, she developed a voice along the way and became stronger within each relationship but she never got to be a true individual because she always had a man holding her back. Even if she finally found her true love, Tea Cake, she never did reach her full independence.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you! To start, I could not believe that she listened to Joe and actually wrapped her hair just because he was unsatisfied by all the attention from others it was causing. Immediately I knew that this was going to restrict Janie as an individual and what she represents. It was interesting to see her let her hair down when she started her journey with Tea Cake and how that would lead to a different level of freedom for her and her relationship with Tea Cake. It is sad that in this new relationship, she may be able to have a certain type of freedom that she may not have been able to have with Joe, but with Tea Cake I also believe that she soon becomes emotionally restricted, leaving no room for the true freedom that she deserved.
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