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Janie’s grandmother forces her to marry her first husband Logan Killick because she wants Janie to have a higher social status. She was born into slavery she has experienced a lot of discrimination and pain, and she doesn’t want Janie to have the same experience as her. In Janie’s opinion, she wants to marry for love, but she ends up marrying a wealthy husband who will care for her to please her grandmother. Hurston outlines the value of African-American women to almost zero in The Marriage. The author Hurston gives an example of the expected role of women; “they were expected to be in the house and work for the man ” “Janie!” Logan called harshly. “Come help me move this manure pile before’ de sun gets hot. You don’t take a little bit of interest in this place. ‘Tain’t no use in the foolin’ round in that kitchen all day long…” (4.51-54) “Considerin’ youse born in a carriage ‘thought no top to it, and you’re a mama and you being’ born and raised in the white folk's backyard.'(4.40) This proves the point that women were treated married for the things they could do for their home. From what he said we can feel a condescending tone of discrimination and oppression.
We also can use mules to show the relationships between Janie and Logan. However, the mule also represents the women in the patriarchal society. Janie’s second husband Joe Starks is more attractive than Logan, has excess ambition, lacks communication, and has a sense of superiority, and jealousy that Janie cannot control. Joe is very vain. Joe's entire lifestyle revolves around his high respect for himself. Joe's definition of women is also about controlling them. The author Hurston shows readers an example of this in chapter 5 when Jody says “…Muh wife don’t know nothin’ bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ like dat. She is a woman and her place are in the home”(126). Joe says here that he didn’t marry a woman for her ability to share her opinion and speak, he married her for the things she can do for their home. At the beginning, Janie knows that Joe cares about her. But Joe’s attitude towards her has changed over time. From Joe's point of view, since Jenny is a woman, she has no intelligence, voice, or autonomy, and should have no rights. While much of the concept can be explained with Janie's treatment, Joe also emphasized it with other women.” For example “Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don’t think none themselves.” “Ah knows uh few things, and womenfolks thinks sometimes too!” “Aw naw they don’t. They just think they’re thinkin’. When Ah sees one thing, Ah understands ten.
You can see ten things and don’t understand one.”(180-182) All of this shows his disrespect for women and sets a low status for women. Also, Hurston’s use of metaphors is, “She sent her face to Joe's funeral, and herself went rollicking with the springtime across the world,” This means Janie has wholly abandoned his feelings, and she is just going for the show. She was not affected by his death, And it also shows that under what repression Janie shows no concern for her husband's behavior, that men's oppression of women has reached a hateful level. For Janie, Tea Cake was her true love; He won Janie’s heart with his carefree, fun-loving nature. She feels equal treatment. Tea Cake’s attitude about Janie working is entirely different. First, he gave her the choice to work instead of ordering her. Second, the reason she works with Teacake is that she wants to spend more time with him. Tea Cake did not think of Janie as an object but as a companion. Even though Tea Cake was kind to Janie, but he was not perfect. The author also gives an example He locked the door and shook it to make sure and handed her the key. 'Come on now, I’ll see you inside yo’ door and get on down de Dixie.” “Put dat two hundred back wid de rest, Janie. Mah dice. Ah, no need no assistance to help me feed my woman. From now on, you going to eat whatever mah money can buy uh and wear de same. When Ah ain’t got nothin’, you don’t git nothin’. (276-277)”Although Tea Cake tried to treat men and women equally, he still unconsciously believed that women were weaker than men. He assumed they needed a man to escort them safely home. He called Janie an 'Easter girl in an Easter costume,' which kind of blunted her image and seriousness and Tea Cake showed his strong masculinity by making his woman Janie dependent on him financially. Therefore in a patriarchal society, the discrimination and oppression of women by men was deeply rooted. Even tea cake wasn't perfect too, but it represented a light in the darkness coming out of a crack.
At the end of the story, Janie has experienced three failed marriages and as a result, she blossoms into an independent woman. She finds a way to show her own identity and be a leader of feminism. She also represents women in a patriarchal society. Based on the period Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God, readers get to see the darkness of a patriarchal society. Double illustrates the darkness of society at the time. By that time It is also a sign of the feminist movement.
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