Isolation In Jane Eyre By Hurston

He “[invites] Janie to be…herself” and he “does not limit her to a particular role” (Domina 315). As a result, there are no expectations for Janie to fulfill. She has no need to conform to a certain type of behavior or appearance, which allows her to finally reconcile the differences between internal and external versions of herself. Professor Deborah Clarke describes Janie’s time with Tea Cake as an opportunity for Janie to flourish and learn how to “formulate a self which is not predicated upon oppression” (Clarke 607). Because Tea Cake does not impose societal expectations upon Janie, she is able to navigate a relationship in which her innermost self that she has kept hidden can now rise to the surface.

Janie Crawford is surrounded by outward influences that contradict her independence and personal development. These outward influences from society, her grandma, and even significant others contribute to her curiosity. Tension builds between outward conformity and inward questioning, allowing Zora Neal Hurston to illustrate the challenge of choice and accountability that Janie faces throughout the novel.

This loneliness was supposed to be filled by another man, her second husband Joe Starks. She continued her development as a woman especially in the beginning of the new relationship when Joe “spoke for change and chance” (28). The problems Janie had to face in this marriage were that her husband did not treat her equal but rather treated her as an ornament. She found out that the love he provided to her in the beginning was rather part of the ulterior moves Joe had about becoming an important landlord and major. Joe gave only material goods to Janie who felt again as if something misses in her life.

After years of quiet suffering, Janie finds the strength to confront Jody on his deathbed, " ‘But you wasn’t satisfied wid me de way Ah was. Naw! Mah own mind had tuh be squeezed and crowded out tuh make room for yours in me’ ” (86). Angry and finally motivated to speak her mind, Janie articulates her value as a woman and a wife, blaming Jody for being too self-involved and egotistical to appreciate her worth. Ironically, Joe’s attempts to stifle Janie during their marriage only serve to amplify her voice at its end. In stark contrast, Hurston’s heroine comes full circle to discover a peaceful inner-voice with soul mate Tea Cake who treats Janie as an equal and encourages her to express herself. Reminiscing with Phoeby, Janie explains, “ ‘Talkin’ don’t amount tuh a hill uh beans...you got tuh go there tuh know there...find out about livin’ fuh themselves’ “ (192). Janie had to endure the unhappiness and abuse of two failed marriages to discover her voice and find the courage to use it, eventually leading her to love and happiness with Tea Cake. Certainly each of Janie’s relationships, whether a failure and success, lends clarity and volume to her voice over the course of her

Janie shows the issues African Americans faced during this period and the their newfound confidence but also shows differences from the beliefs of this era. Hurston uses these departures and similarities to allow the reader to further understand the novel and the time period in which it takes

Over the course of the novel, Janie is married three times to three drastically different people. First is Logan Killicks, whom she has no choice but to marry; soon Janie discovers that she could never have loved Logan because he treats her as less than him. She leaves Logan for Joe “Jody” Starks because initially, she believes that she loves him. However, after he gains power in their community and his true opinion of Janie as less valuable than any man is revealed, Janie begins to hate him and she isn’t affected much when he eventually dies. After Jody’s death, Janie falls in love with Tea Cake, who treats her better than either of her previous husbands. He makes Janie feel valued and practically equal to him and other men for almost the first time in her life. Each marriage brings Janie closer to realizing her role and identity in society. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston explores each of Janie’s three husbands’ different opinions on gender roles in society and relationships to construct the idea that, in life, it is absolutely necessary to find your role in the world -- especially as a woman.

Through Tea Cake’s character, Zora Neale Hurston shows that society is destructive. Whenever there is a group of people living together, “society” is inescapable. Tea Cake pretends to be a man who is not consumed with the evilness of society, however, Tea Cake’s influence on Janie forces her to become weak and dependent. Uncovering society’s faults force Janie to become aware of her situation, and become a realistic person, rather than the romantic she has always

They find it disrespectful that Janie just comes back without telling anyone what happened and why she was back. In Eatonville Janie was disliked by many as they assumed that she felt superior to everyone. The people’s judgments had a huge influence on Janie’s character. Jamie was raised in an environment where she was always considered an outsider and people viewed her social status as above everyone’s. Constantly being judged like this Janie eventually throughout the course of the novel grows into the character they all judged her to be, as she returns to Eatonville as an independent strong woman setting herself apart from the other woman in Eatonville. The author through Janie’s character development indicates how the environment that one grows up is greatly influential towards the development of that individual’s

In her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston depicts the journey of a young woman of finding “true love.” The young woman, Janie Crawford, began her journey by marrying a farmer named Logan. After living a depressed and unromantic short-lived marriage, Janie ran off with a youthful and charismatic traveler named Joe Starks. “Jody”, as Janie called him, soon became the mayor of his newly founded town and, with this new position, his attitude and behavior towards Janie extremely changed. At many times Jody would often control Janie by telling her what she has to do around the town. Soon she realizes that with his new power Jody has treated her with less and less respect and values her as nothing but his property.

Throughout a fair part of Zora Neal Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s low class create problems when it comes to men. She lives with men she does not love because they give her the financial stability she cannot have yet on her own. Janie marries Logan Killicks at a young age even though she does not want to

While Janie yearns for “idyllic union” and emotional fulfillment, Nanny maintains the “prevailing sexual and racial milieu” by arranging her marriage with wealthy landowner Logan Killicks (Meese 264). Hurston purposefully compares Janie’s progressive ideals to those of feminists who were coined as “New Women” who sought marriages based on equality. She directly relates this contrast in beliefs to feminist’s dreams of and efforts towards success and equality through female autonomy rather than material wealth and security under a man’s control. Furthermore, as Janie settles in her second marriage with Jody Starks, she becomes increasingly dissatisfied. Janie’s feelings of confinement and entrapment steadily rise as Jody orders her to remain introverted and shuttle between the general store and home (Moss and Wilson 3). He forces Janie to play the role of a beautiful and submissive wife and “does not allow her to articulate her feelings or ideas [although she] longs to participate in everyday town life” (Moss and Wilson 3). Accordingly, Hurston scorns Jody for believing “She’s uh woman and her place is in de home” (43) and utilizes his chauvinistic outlook to promote women to establish importance outside of homemaking and caregiving. Hurston’s proposal directly reflects and supports Catharine Beecher’s influential efforts to “reconcile women to the limitations of the domestic sphere” (Cott 40) and expand women’s ability to excel in a multitude of different

The main character, Janie Woods, is unlike any other character throughout the novel, being 75% white and 25% black. For this she was not only looked up to but also looked down upon. She was an outsider within her own community while from the male perspective, she was a prized possession to anyone that could gain her affection. It is important that Hurston told the story about how Janie reached her full potential because it clearly demonstrates how anyone can gain happiness if they simply try. The women on the porch who judge her have hopes and dreams like anyone else. However, Janie is different than them by the way she risks everything she has to chase after her dreams. She encountered many difficulties with this approach at first, involving her marriages with Logan and Joe. Although, she overcame such challenges stronger than ever. Her ending may seem melancholy with the death of Tea Cake, but it is actually tragically perfect. Everything Janie dreamed of as a child was true love and this is exactly what she ended up with. She gained a voice in her life which was masked in her previous relationships. At the end of the novel, Janie is quite content with where her life stands and it is clear to the reader that the problems she endured were actually quite necessary. Although it was sorrowful to see Janie grappling for her dreams, Hurston uses each obstacle to

Exile. Isolation. Solitude. Whether literal or not, exile from the familiar, while both traumatic and alienating to experience, can serve to ultimately be enriching. These descriptors summarize Jane Eyre’s isolation in the novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. Her isolation manifests itself as emotional and physical, and Jane’s repeated inability to establish herself in a stable home becomes somewhat of an identifier for her, from her emotional isolation and abuse in her first “home” at Gateshead to her final dwelling at Ferndean.

Throughout the novel of ‘Jane Eyre’ a colonialism and isolation are reflected throughout the novel, mainly through the treatment of Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre as she is cruelly locked in the attic due to her husband, Mr Rochester deeming her as insane. Bertha is described in a demon like manner whereas Jane represents a rebellious young woman who can be closely linked to a modern woman with the values and independence the contemporary readers possess. Jane does not represent any of the desired values by Victorians as Jane stands up to Rochester and acts as his equal rather than his lesser half. The presentation of Bertha being demonic was also highlighted by Solomon as she ‘represent[s] the flames of hell fire’¹ showing the devilish manner Bertha is presented in and the mistreatment of her as an individual, however, it also shows the historical views towards the mentally ill as Bertha isn’t seen to have a sickness but rather she is possessed. Fire is also associated with heat like Bertha as she is aligned with the ‘hot’ West Indies. Bertha is seen as villain as she constantly jeopardises Jane and Rochester’s future, however she can be seem to catalyse Janes personal development and self-awareness due to the positions Jane is left in due to Berthas presence.

This is different in Jane Eyre as she is pleased with her position in society, she doesn’t judge or put down those of a lower status due to knowing what it is like. An example of this is where she takes the positon of a teacher and she feels as though she has “taken a step which is sinking her instead of raising her in the scale of social existence.” She then mentions that she must not forget that these “coarsely-clad little peasants are flesh and blood as good as the scions of gentlest genealogy.” As readers of Charlotte Bronte 's story we are naturally prepared to offer her our affection and admiration for the duration of the book, as a teller of her own story she has to reveal with the becoming modesty what will make her loveable and admirable. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane allows us as readers to witness her remarkable skill at shaping characters into unique individuals through the most commonplace actions and events. These are prime examples of why and how these female authors are able to write successful novels.