Porch-talk chapter 12

"Tea cake and Mrs. Mayor Starks! All the men that she could get, and fooling with somebody like Tea Cake! Another thing, Joe Starks hadn't been dead but nine months and here she does sashaying off to a picnic in pink linen. Done quit attending church, like she used to. Gone to Sanford in a car with Tea Cake and her all dressed in blue! It was a shame...Done took to high heel slippers and a ten dollar hat! Looking like some young girl, always in blue because Tea Cake told her to wear it. Poor Joe Starks. Bet he turns over in his grave every day. Tea Cake and Janie gone hunting. Tea Cake and Janie gone fishing. Tea Cake and Janie gone to Orlando to the movies. Tea Cake and Janie gone to a dance...All those signs of posession...playing Florida flip on the store porch all afternoon as if nobody else was there. Day after day and week after week.. "You better sense her intuh things then 'cause Tea Cake can't do nothin' but help her spend whut she got. Ah reckon dat's whut he's after. Throwin' away whut Joe Starks worked hard tuh git tuhgether"... De men wuz talkin' 'bout it in de grove tuhday and givin' her and Tea Cake both de devil. Dey figger he's spendin' on her now in order tuh make her spend on him later"..."Dat's jealousy and malice. Some uh dem very mens wants tuh do whut dey claim deys skeered Tea Cake is doin'"... "De Pastor claim Tea Cake don't 'low her tuh come tuh church only once in a while 'cause he want dat change tuh buy gas wid. Just draggin' de woman away from church..." (110-111)

Hurston, all throughout the novel, portrays Janie as a love-seeking, freedom-searching woman. Most of Janie's concepts with love and freedom involve men in her relationships. Unfortunately, Janie's first two marriages push her further and further down a path of submission and silence. Luckily, despite her restrictive and often abusive husbands, Janie's experience help her to gain a strong sense of independence throughout the book. This sort of independence that Janie possesses is not often seen of women of her time, let alone black women. Janie's experiences push her further and further away from the communities she resides in, and allows her to take "center stage" of the communities many senses of scrutiny. 


Why Tea Cake is "bad"
The residents of Eatonville have always kept a sharp eye on the founding family of their town. Joe Starks is a strong and influential man in the community, both in inspiring as well as demeaning ways.  He is gruff, bossy, and an effective mayor in one of the only all-Black towns in America at that time. His responsibility in managing the store, running the post office, and directing the town of Eatonville placed Joe on a pedestal that could not be touched. Janie was his accessory, his trophy, and not to be touched, looked at, or even talked to by any other man. Although Joe Starks had a way of placing fear into the citizens of Eatonville, he and his intentions were always respected. "But now, Sam, you know dat all he do is big-belly round and tell other folks what tuh do. He loves obedience out of everybody under de sound of his voice" (49).
After Joe's death, the care-free innocence and young heart of Tea Cake appeal to Janie's desire to live freely, to spontaneously leave a responsibility or duty and to indulge herself in adventurous activities, to run free, to sing, to neglect any reputation and expectations Eatonville created for her and live as her own person. Tea Cake's character embodies the life that Janie was forced to abandon as soon as she married Logan. Janie's duties as a woman pushed her away from her inner-desire to be an individual with personal agendas having nothing to do with societies expectations. Tea Cake is young, a drifter, charming and kind- all qualities that Logan and Joe never possess.
The town sees Tea Cake as a great distraction and disruption to Eatonville's established way of life. Not only is Tea Cake a new stranger, he appears to have no money or home. Janie, as seen by Eatonville, as a simple and helpless woman who needs to be taken care of, provided for, and "spoiled". Eatonville does not believe that Tea Cake will provide Janie with anything. It is thought that Tea Cake in fact will steal Janie's savings and leave her confused and alone. Janie will always be considered "Mrs. Mayor Joe Starks". To Eatonville, Janie is not a powerful individual. While not allowed to be influential or authorative, Janie is still considered an original "piece" of Eatonville, to forever remain a decoration in the big white house Joe left for her, to forever be "Mrs. Mayor Joe Starks", and to never raise her voice or lift a finger in her own daily life.  With Tea Cake in the picture, not only will the daily life and happening of Eatonville be disrupted, Janie will gain a sense of pride. Joe makes Janie miserable throughout the whole book. Once Janie meets Tea Cake, she is no longer miserable. This new face and presence upsets the community, and the blame for the change in mood is placed on Tea Cake.


Mourning
Expected to forever mourn and honor her late husband, Janie is frowned upon when she chooses to wear bright colors. Eatonville is amazed- not only is Janie presenting flashy and vibrant attire, Tea Cake inspires her new appearance and also purchases the clothing. Eatonville sees this as disrespect to Janie's late husband. Tea Cake is "distracting" Janie from her loss, "luring her in" with flashy bright distracting things, and "flaunting" it about the town as if to display his new trophy.
In fact this is not the case at all, as Janie states "Ah aint' grievin' so why do Ah hafta mourn? Tea Cake love me in blue, so Ah wears it. Jody aint' never in his life picked out no color for me. De world picked out black and white for mournin', Joe didn't. So Ah wasn't wearin' it for him. Ah was wearin' it for the rest of ya'll" (113)
This quick and bold statement suddenly puts Janie on a new platform of self-declaration. Tea Cake does inspire her, Logan and Jody were restrictive and oppressive. The bright clothes give Janie a sense of individuality and personality she was never allowed to display before. Enjoying her new found "freedom", Janie points out to Phoeby that it is Eatonville that expects her to act a certain way, and in reality it is all not necessary. As time passes in Eatonville after Joe's death, Janie gains more and more insight on what her dreams and expectations of herself are. By gradually speaking out, wearing vibrant clothing, and openly dating another man, Janie is proving to Eatonville that she herself is powerful and independent. However, with individuality and openness comes scrutiny, and Eatonville knows all to well how to diminish and insult actions and responses of Janie.



Money
As stated earlier, Tea Cake is suspected of using Janie for her money. This is easy for Eatonville to conclude, Tea Cake is a "drifter" and little is known about him except for he is young, poor, and a gambler. Of course this assumption proves to be false later in the novel, as Janie and Tea Cake's relationship grows and blooms the issues involving money diminish.

Jealousy
Tea Cake, while disrupting Eatonville and stealing the untouchable bride, creates a boiling volume of jealousy among the other men in Eatonville. While constantly comparing wives and women on the porch, the men complain of how hard they must work to provide for "ungrateful" families. Tea Cake, with his youth and charm, seems to have embodied what most of the men in the town want- a free ride. If in fact Tea Cake's intent was to take Janie's money, the porch-talkers would be correct in their assumptions. Oftentimes discussing how "stupid" women are, the idea of luring a widow in and subsequently stealing her savings seems, to the men of Eatonville, a quick and painless method of escaping their responsibilities as men. If Tea Cake abuses this "loophole", other men in Eatonville will become jealous.


Eatonville, together with false concepts of duties, reputations and stereotypes, have created a complete imaginary relationship between Janie and Tea Cake. Their reactions to Janie's newfound independence give Janie even more strength and reason to leave Eatonville and pursue her happiness with Tea Cake.



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