Janie the Woman who Never Succumbed to Society

Janie the Woman who Never Succumbed to Society

Zora Neale Hurston courageously created a strong, independent, African American, female character, in a time in which females were not meant to be main characters and no African American character met a truly happy ending. Janie, Hurston’s main character, is a strong woman who is thrust into an unwanted marriage at the age of 16. Janie is entrusted by her grandmother to an old farmer who reeks and crawls into bed at night dirty. Unable to stand her treatment in the hands of the old farmer, Janie takes matters into her own hands. She shows that she is able to think for herself and that she will do what is best for herself. Many girls in this situation may have dreamed of fleeing, but Janie took action.

                  Janie meets a man with which she will run away with, Joe Starks. Janie is not dazzled by love or the need for a man. Joe Starks, the man she elopes with, is a risk, a chance at a better avenue of life than what she has already. Janie does not necessarily need Joe Starks to escape. She tells the reader that with or without Joe, she would have still left and never turned back. Joe Starks however was able to aid her in leaving and served as a good husband—in the time the book was written. Joe Starks became a man of power and influence. He became a mayor and a store owner, putting Janie in charge of much of the stores operations. Joe often tried to influence Janie, wanting her to act as a doll in the window of his huge store and home. Janie though not able to totally disobey Joe, rarely agreed with him. Janie thought she should have more free will to do as she pleased, she wanted to go to social events and sit on the porch and joke with the men at night. Janie refused to succumb to societal standards and just be a house wife to look at. After Joe died, without anyone to hold her back, Janie was able to join the community. Without anyone to stop her, Janie took a seat with the men on the porch every night. A seat as the only woman in town able to take part in the men’s antics.

                  Janie did not worry long about the mourning of Joe Starks. She started to wear more vibrant colors, and she let her hair down (something Joe jealously never let her do). Ignoring the whispers of the town Janie refused to be pressured into marriage with a “dignified man.” She did not need a man to take care of her, make her happy, or provide financial support. Janie was able to her own person, without an overbearing husband. A freedom earned after twenty plus years of being put in the dark and she was not willing to give that up lightly.

                  Janie found a rough man who she able to deeply love but, even he was not essential. Tea Cake, Janie’s last husband, made her happy but did not complete her. Janie becomes more independent and strong as Hurston’s story progresses. She leans less and less on anybody for true support. The readers see that she enjoys the companionship of other but, she is able to be her own independent person. She was an independent woman in a time when being an independent woman was looked down upon. In the end, Janie did not need a man to complete her and she did not need the approval of anyone, but herself.