What does Janie in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" learn during her journey?

Question

i get Janie's journey is like a hero journey, taken from sommon, everyday world of others' expectations, through test, and then back home, changed by experience.

i don't really get the Janie's whole progression from epiphany to identity.

can you give some example or quote from the book to get it.

Answer 1

I hope you have read the book. If you haven't I urge you to do so. There is no way 'to get it' apart from actually reading it and taking the journey with her.

That being said, her basic journey is one of self-realization. She learns who she is as a woman. She is first defined by her grandmother. Then her first husband. Then her second husband. She spends most of her life getting pushed around and bossed around and told what to do and when to do it. She has never had a time where she could just be. Where she could just let go of everything and really get to know and love herself. Her first husband treated her like a mule or field hand. She was slaving away all day. The second husband didn't make her work so hard physically, but he was draining her emotionally and spiritually. He was very possessive. Very demanding. I remember he liked her to keep her hair hidden away. He didn't like her talking with the customers of his store. He wanted her only for himself. She belonged to him. She wasn't allowed to do anything without his permission. So her first two marriages are loveless in my opinion. Whatever fairy tale notions she had when she said 'I do' were soon displaced by reality. Her third marriage is different. She's more mature. She's older. She's wiser. She's still not quite there...but she's different. Each experience has made an impact. Her third relationship or marriage is all about her. She feels love. She gives love. She receives love. It's a give and take relationship. Their relationship isn't perfect. But it's the best she's known so far. He genuinely loves her as she is and not as who he wants her to be. He sees her for who she is. And she begins to see and know who that person is. She is finally transformed and made whole. She's no longer a reflection of everyone's expectations. She's no longer moldable. She is clearly defined. Gone are the days where she cares about what anyone has to say about her good or bad. She is finally empowered. I am not going to give quotes from the book because I'm not going to go to that much trouble to do someone else's work. I know this book well. I've read it many times.

It is a powerful book. But it is not a book you can 'get' without taking the time and effort to read. Yes, it's written in dialect which at first may be intimidating. But it is a powerful text just the same. As Janie tells her story to her one friend--the person she trusts--the reader is invited on this intimate journey too.