Everyone has heard the stories of a woman doing anything for love or enduring anything to keep the man she feels she is in love with. Although this still does happen now, this was happening way more in the 1900s, when women was really dependent on men for mostly everything. During that time, men lead the household making all the decisions in the relationship. They were dominant over their wives and their was no questions asked. Women took a backseat to their men because they were blinded by love and powerless by male dominance. Men loved the fact that they could control their wives.
In Zora Neale Hurston, “Their Eyes Were Watching God” Janie is the character that is blinded by her wanting love. In the critical essay, “I Love the Way Janie Crawford Left Her Husbands,” Washington talks about how Janie is “made powerless by her three husbands” and this essay will talk about the extent of this in reference to Tea Cake, her third husband. Washington makes it clear how she feels about Janie’s character. She feels Janie is an object throughout the text. Washington writes, “Janie is often passive when she should be active, deprived of speech when she should be in demand of language, made powerless by her three husbands… 28)” Janie does not have a strong voice when it comes to her three husbands, Logan, Jody, and Tea Cake.
When she feels a certain way about something she does not speak on it. Janie lets her grandmother and her three husbands tell her what to do with her life. When she does speak up, it does not lead her to power, but it only gives her a second of self revelation. Janie does not put any action behind her words, which causes her to be overpowered by her three husbands. She was overpowered by them for two reasons. The first reason is her fear of being alone. The second reason is her fear of never having love.
Janie wanted love and felt like if she never meant someone who she could share that with, then she would not have reached her grandmother expectations and would not have been complete. Washington goes on to talk about Janie being made powerless by Jody, her second husband, but does not go on to reference Tea Cake. After Jody marries Janie, he takes control over her life. He makes her wear rugs over her head and excludes her from conversations. Even though Janie does not like the way Jody is treating her, she remains silent and willing to comply to his orders.
Washington writes that “… Janie’s psychic split in which her imagination asserts itself while her body makes a show of obedience (31). ” Jody is also a very jealous man. However, Washington does not mention that Tea Cake was a jealous man as well. The big difference between Tea Cake and Jody is that Janie more so scared of lody, which causes her obedience and Janie’s love for Tea Cake cause her obedience towards him. Out of Janie’s three husbands, Tea cake is the one that has the biggest impact on her because Janie love for someone is stronger her fear of another.
Janie’s love for Tea Cake causes her to be blind and act powerless towards the things Tea Cake do. Janie loves Tea Cake more than she ever loved her other two husbands. She dismisses the wrongful things Tea Cake do because of her fear of losing him. Throughout the story Janie is searching to find herself and what she really wants and she feels Tea Cake is the answer to all her problems. She wants a “romantic fantasy” and feels Tea Cake gives that to her. Janie overlooks the fact that Tea Cake is poor and is not at the same level as her earlier husbands, Logan and Jody.
No man has ever made her feel as important and as loved has Tea Cake made her feel. Janie will do anything for Tea Cake to help fulfill his desires and she does not care what the town people has to say about her or Tea Cake. An example of Janie acting powerless and blinded by love is when Tea Cake steals money from her. When Tea Cake leaves to get fish for breakfast he does not come back. Janie then discovers that Tea Cake has stolen 200 dollars from her. She worries if the town people was right about him. When Tea Cake gets back, he explains how he took the money to buy food for a party his group of friends were having.
Janie questions Tea Cake on why she was not invited, then Tea Cake apologizes and says that he will invite her next time. lanie loves Tea Cake so that she overlooks the fact that Tea Cake stole from her. Even though Tea Cake loves Janie, Janie is too blinded by love to see that Tea Cake also likes the fact that Janie has money and uses that to his advantage. Another example of Janie being shown as powerless and blinded by love is when Tea Cake hits her. When Mrs. Turner brings her brother to town to meet Janie, Tea Cake feels threatened knowing that Mrs.
Turner does not want Janie with a man like Tea Cake and would prefer Janie to be with her brother. In that same week, Tea Cake beats Janie out jealousy. Hurston writes, “Not because her behavior justified his jealousy, but it relieved that awful fear inside him (147). ” Tea Cake is trying to show that he is in control of Janie; that Janie is his possession. It makes him feel that Janie will not leave him. Tea Cake pampers Janie afterwards and she forgives him with no ill feelings towards him. Janie love for Tea Cake lets her make excuses for his actions. The men and women of the town envied them.
How Tea Cake pampered Janie as if he never hit her “made women see visions” (147) and the “helpless way she hung on to him made men dream dreams” (147). Tea Cake is admired around town for beating Janie and Janie does not even care because of her being blinded by love makes her powerless. When Janie kills Tea Cake it could be argued as a powerless act as well. During the hurricane, Janie is attacked by a dog and Tea Cake saves her by killing it, but not before the dog bites him. After the storm is over, Tea Cake is feeling sick and having mood swings, so Janie goes to get help.
She brings back a doctor who says that Tea Cake has contracted rabies from the dog he killed and that Tea Cake will die from it. Janie cries in fear of losing the one she loves. Tea Cake continues his mood swings and accusing Janie of things. Janie then learns that Tea Cake is hiding a gun under his pillow and turns it to the empty chambers. Janie starts to sneak away to see the doctor for he can give her medicine for Tea Cake. When Tea Cake that janie has been sneaking out, he accuses her of cheating by sneaking off to see Mrs. Turner’s brother. He pulls out his gun and Janie begs him not to shoot.
He pulls the trigger once, but it is empty. Janie pulls out a shotgun and begs again for Tea Cake not to shoot and go to bed. Tea Cake shoots again, but empty. By the time Tea Cake pulls the trigger a third time, Janie has pulled the trigger of her shotgun shooting Tea Cake. Before he hits the floor Janie rushes over to him to catch him. She cries out loud until the doctor arrives. Janie did not want to shoot Tea Cake. She loved him deeply. However, she had no choice. Janie was in desperate fear for her life. If she did not protect herself, Tea Cake would have killed her.
Janie also talks about how the dog had somewhat possessed Tea Cake and that he would have never tried to kill her if he wasn’t bitten. He wasn’t himself and the only way to save him and herself was to kill him. She was powerless over what happened to Tea Cake and the fate of the relationship between them. Though Washington did talk about Janie being powerless, this essay went into depth about her being powerless in her relationship with Tea Cake. Janie is not only the subject of the story, but she is the object of the story. She is very passive when and comes to Tea Cake.
Her love is blinding and it allows her husbands, especially Tea Cake, to take advantage of her. Tea Cake stealing money from Janie is the first time he takes advantage of her blinding love. The second time Tea Cake takes advantage of Janie blinding love is when he hits her and this shows how powerless she really is with him. Janie love for Tea cake is strong, even after his death. Janie wasn’t just powerless in dealing with her own feeling, but she was also powerless when it came to Tea Cake feelings, which in the end lead to her losing the one she loved most.