January Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
"She didn't read books, so she didn't know that she was the world and the heavens boiled down to a drop."
HISTORY
When Their Eyes Were Watching God was first published in 1937, reactions ranged from celebratory to skeptical to downright vitriolic. Many leading Harlem Renaissance authors did not appreciate Hurston’s “prose... cloaked in that facile sensuality” for they thought it would dampen the demand for racial equality that many Black artists were highlighting in this era of cultural, political and artistic explosion. During the Harlem Renaissance, there was debate among Black artists whether their art should assume the common goal of tearing down racial stereotypes created by non-black authors that had long dominated popular literature and society, or if they should embrace the freedom to create outside the constraints of racist American politics. Zora sided with the latter, wanting her art to exist for her own unique, artistic purposes. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story of young love, heartbreak, self-discovery, and sacrifice. It is also a story of liberation, femininity, language and power. This novel highlights Black creativity, Black excellence and Black love. Their Eyes Were Watching God is Hurston’s protest against the popularized idea that Black people exist to combat racism and anti-blackness that they didn’t create.
LANGUAGE + VOICE
Young Janie Crawford, raised by her grandmother in a small Florida town in the early 1900s, has lots of things to say, but has not yet invented her voice. This novel follows Janie on her journey to define herself and her voice — a journey that takes her through three marriages, four towns, and one true heartbreak. At the beginning of the novel, Janie’s grandmother, wishing only for protection for her sweet child, arranges for Janie to be married to Logan Hillicks, a local farmer with money but a soul not half as vibrant as young Janie’s. Janie does not wish to marry him, but Nanny insists that she can only rest easy once her granddaughter is guaranteed protection. Once married to Mr. Hillicks, Janie is given no opportunities for expression or self-exploration. Logan praises and admires her initially, but after a few months into their marriage, his affection fades and she begins to feel unloved and unvalued.
Even before she first encounters Jody Starks, a “cityfied, stylish dressed man,” on the dirt road by her house, Janie knows she will never be satisfied staying with Logan. She runs away with Jody, who she travels with to Eatonville, Florida where Jody assumes the title of “mayor” and begins fixing up the town. He and Janie get along well enough, but Janie doesn’t feel truly known by him, for he makes a habit of silencing her. As their time together approaches its end, Janie confesses, “You wouldn’t listen. You done lived wid me for twenty years and you don’t half know me atall… Mah own mind had tuh be squeezed and crowded out tuh make room for yours in me.”
Now forty-something years old and acutely aware of her dwindling years, Janie meets Tea Cake, a lively, loving man who will finally encourage her individuality rather than try to cover it up. Tea Cake offers Janie the genuine love and authentic companionship she had always lacked. Though this novel ends with a tragic twist, by its end Janie has, after many years, discovered and defined her voice. It is with this discovery that Janie is liberated from the anxieties she had inherited from her grandmother, and empowered in her ability to control her own voice. On this journey, she also learned that sometimes it really was best to stay silent.
THOUGHTS ON Their Eyes Were Watching God
It is largely due to Alice Walker's 1978 essay "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston," that this novel is now regarded as one of the greatest feminist novels of the 20th century. And thank goodness it is. This book deserves to be read by anyone and everyone with eyes and ears to enjoy it. A deeply emotional, supremely engaging, cry-along-with-the-characters type of novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God gives anyone lucky enough to discover it a small glimpse into the heart and soul of Hurston, her own pain, and her "bright and powerful presence" that shined out of her and reflected onto everyone around her. Praised for its masterful use of rural Southern Black dialect juxtaposed with highly figurative narration, this novel, its message, and its prose are as relevant and rebellious as they were at the time of its publication. If you wish to feel joyful and heartbroken, awestruck and mournful, all at the same time, find a copy of this book and a room free of distraction and dive into the beautiful story of Janie Crawford and her relentless struggle for freedom and boundless love.
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Find a library near you and check out this book to get started. If you want your own copy, check out these Black-Owned bookstores that offer online ordering. Happy reading!
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