Zora Neal Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God portrays the search for self-identity and self-worth of a female African American protagonist, Janie. Along Janie’s path toward individuality, she encounters three very different husbands who open her eyes to her true self and aid in the search for her unique voice. Janie begins her quest with a push and some grim words from her Grandmother, who tells Janie that “she would love Logan after they were married” (Hurston 21). Janie grabs hold of the idea of eventual love, finding comfort in the fact that “she wouldn’t be lonely anymore” (21). For a whole year Logan, her first husband, provides protection and a decent living for Janie; nevertheless, Janie grows restless after a year of “waiting for love to begin” (22). Eloping with Jody, a new, handsome, promising man, Janie believes that she has found “a bee for her bloom” (32). Jody, however, becomes increasingly proud and props Janie on a pedestal, never to come down. With Jody, Janie becomes somewhat of a servant to her androcentric husband, who prohibits her from taking part in social activities around the town. After Jody’s death, Janie finds a certain relief. Her two marriages, particularly the latter, have at this point shaped Janie’s character and allowed her to find a voice against oppression. As Janie falls in love with her final husband, Tea Cake, she takes a radically different approach as opposed to her previous marriages. Approaching the relationship cautiously, Janie finds that Tea Cake brings out the best in her. He treats her as an equal, allowing her to “listen and laugh and even talk some herself” (134). The openness of the relationship allows Janie to complete her quest, break free from her previous restraints, and find her inner self. Through Janie’s search for her true identity she encounters three men who teach her to seek protection, respect, love, and, most of all, equality.
As Janie’s first husband, Logan Killicks never has a...