In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, chapter fourteen gives the reader a sense of how Janie begins to near her struggle for self discovery.  Janie’s movement toward self discovery begins showcasing itself in this chapter through her relationship with others.  Up until chapter fourteen, Janie’s relationship with others is mostly guided and restricted, and in this chapter she finally begins to display a healthy interaction within her community and in her marriage.  The aspects of her growth among others in this chapter sets the ground on which Janie will continues to displays while living in her new community. 

From the start of chapter fourteen, we sense a difference in Janie’s perception of the world around her.  In the previous chapters, we saw Janie’s struggle through her past two marriages to Logan Killicks and Joe Starks.  Now, however, she is married to Tea Cake Woods and believes that for the first time she is in love.  Moreover, she has moved from one town, Eatonville, to the Everglades with her new husband and is about to live in a new, and unfamiliar community.

Janie’s perception of the new town is seen almost immediately, “Ground so rich that everything went wild…People wild too” (Hurston 129).  Unlike, the past towns Janie had lived in, everything in the Everglades looked so big to her.  Furthermore, this new town sees a side of Janie we have not seen earlier in the novel, and Janie is feeling differently toward her new community as well.  For instance, “…what if Eatonville could see her now in her blue denim overalls and heavy shoes?” (Hurston 134).  This new dress attire on Janie is not what the reader is used to picturing.  In Eatonville, as Mayor Stark’s wife, for example, she was expected to dress above the norm, and wrap her elegant, long hair in a bun.  The community of Eatonville saw Janie as the Mayor’s wife, who stood beside him when he told her to, and did not speak, tell stories, or participate in any events.  Starks would not allow his wife to take part in common folk activities, Janie in a sense had been mentally enslaved by Starks and stereotyped by the town.  For example, while thinking of Eatonville, Janie thinks to herself, “…she was sorry for her friends back there and scornful of the others” (Hurston 134).  As the Mayors’ wife in Eatonville, Janie had been involuntarily placed up on a pedestal to serve and smile when told to.  Near her husband’s death, Janie had not fully reached a healthy relationship with Joe, and thus she was still hiding.  Things would change shortly, however, as Janie leaves Eatonville with Tea Cake, months after her husband’s death realizing that, “her soul had crawled out from its hiding place” (Hurston 128).  Janie’s inner feelings of love and openness would begin to show.

The town Janie and Tea Cake arrive at from the start of this chapter, immediately judge Janie as almost a do-nothing wife.  For instance, “…she was already getting to be a special case on the muck” (Hurston 133).  With only a short time in this town, referred to as the muck, Janie was already assumed to be too good for the rest and most especially the women.  Janie had been portrayed in this similar fashion while married to Joe Starks as well.  Despite the talk, Janie would show the people in the muck that she was not special and that she could do anything, and maybe more, anyone else could do.  In this chapter, we witness Janie not having a specific role among the community, but rather just becoming a part of the town.  For instance we witness this as we see Janie compare her old town to her new one, “The men held big arguments here like they used to do on the store porch.  Only here, she could listen and laugh and even talk some herself if she wanted to.  She got so she could tell big stories herself…” (Hurston 134). 

In addition to participating in activities on her porch such as a dice game, or talking up stories, Janie takes to the field along side Tea Cake.  The folks in the muck are still hesitant as they witness Janie putting on overalls and picking up a basket to pick beans.  To everyone’s surprise, however, Janie quickly displays her playful behavior.  For instance, “...all day long the romping and playing they (Janie and Tea Cake) carried on behind the boss’s back made her popular right away” (Hurston 133).  For the first time Janie is considered just one of the town folk, no role, no special differences, just Janie Woods.

Janie Woods experiences real love for the first time as well, and through her marriage to Tea Cake begins to live what she had strayed away from or was forbidden to in her past relationships with her former two husbands.  Through this last relationship in the novel Janie and Tea Cake live freely and lovingly during this particular chapter, as though they are the only ones in the muck.  We see Janie willingly going to work in the fields along side her husband Tea Cake and get a sense of their days on the field, for instance, “…all day long the romping and playing they carried on behind the boss’s back made her popular right away” (Hurston 133).  When they are done with working a long, hard day on the field, Tea Cake helps get supper afterwards.  In her past two marriages, Janie does not see help from her husband’s after the courting period.  With Tea Cake, not only does he want her by his side as long as she can be there, but shows his love to her by helping around the house. 

Furthermore, another positive aspect of Janie's relationship with Tea Cake is that of his interest in her learning new things.  For example, when Tea Cake considers going to hunt game, he asks Janie to join him.  Janie, however, does not know how to shoot a gun and has never been taught.  Tea Cake quickly shows his interest and concern for her learning how to shoot, "Oh, you needs tuh learn how.  'Tain't no need uh you not knowin' how tuh handle shootin' tools.  Even if you didn't never find no game, it's always some trashy rascal dat needs uh good killin'," (Hurston 130).  This back and forth interaction  between Tea Cake and herself turns out to be healthy not only for their relationship, but for Janie as well.  She finally begins to learn how to feel comfortable with herself and display that comfort with others. 

Janie now finds herself not guided and ordered by Tea Cake, and judged by her community, but finds her real self in the muck. Her most locked up behaviors finally let out in the only place we ever really think she calls home, the muck. 
 
 

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