In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, There Eyes Were Watching God, a key theme in the story concentrates on Janie’s marriages and love. This essay focuses on chapter 13 which uncovers aspects of Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake. Chapter 13 is important as it shows readers that her final marriage with Tea Cake is something special and unique from her previous marriages because her marriage with Tea Cake involves love; consisting of happiness, jealousy, affection, communication, and understanding. It is with Tea Cake that Janie discovers true love.
            Janie’s marriage to Tea Cake makes her feel like she has been given a second chance in life to live her youth; she feels reborn. With Tea Cake, she is actually having fun and is truly happy. She is experiencing things that she never would have thought she would do, such as they go “to a show and after that they [ride] around on the trolley cars” (117). In her previous marriage with Joe, he isolates her from participating in fun activities such as the mule funeral. Tea Cake even introduces her to his skill of gambling, which is “very exciting to Janie” (125) because this is the first time that she is “[touching] a dice in her life” (125). There is much enthusiasm, joy and spontaneity in this marriage that makes Janie and Tea Cake carry on like a young couple in love, whereas in her previous marriage she lacks happiness.
            This chapter also reveals that Janie honestly cares for Tea Cake. After she finds that Tea Cake has been gone for a long time she prays to God for his return. Janie says, “Ah been so lonesome, and Ah been waitin’, Jesus. Ah done waited uh long time” (120). This quote is saying the obvious that she has been waiting for Tea Cake to return for two days, but it is also saying that she has been waiting a long time to find someone like Tea Cake who she genuinely loves. She is praying to God for him not to take Tea Cake away from her because he fills the loneliness that she feels in her past relationships and she does not want to lose that. Janie also prays to God for Tea Cake’s safety and says, “But oh God, don’t let Tea Cake be off somewhere hurt and Ah not know nothing about it. And God, please suh, don’t let him love nobody else but me” (120).  Even if she is hurt emotionally and angry that he has been gone for so long, her concern for Tea Cake’s well-being is evident. Jealousy and fear of losing him to another woman is also shown in this quote which are normal reactions that a women has when she loves a man. Jealousy by both Tea Cake and Janie in the novel indicates their attachment for each other; however their attachment may have been too strong as it eventually leads to be the death of Tea Cake.
            What is nice about Janie and Tea Cake’s relationship is that their love is two-sided. Tea Cake loves Janie as much as she loves him. Tea Cake shows Janie affection which is something that is missing in her marriage with Joe and Logan. When Tea Cake comes home to Janie and sees her crying on the floor, “he [takes] her head in his hands and ease[s] himself into the chair. [Janie doesn’t] say anything. He [sits] stroking her head and looking down into her face” (121). Tea Cake is now the one concerned about Janie. The sincere and sweet gesture of stroking her hair calms her down and reassures her that he is not going anywhere. Tea Cake also tries to cheer Janie up by “kiss[ing] and playfully turn[ing] up the corner of her mouth until she [smiles]” (121). Making Janie happy shows that he loves her because he is not happy unless she is. Joe does not care if Janie is happy or not. He is the one that puts Janie down about her age to make himself feel better about himself. Joe thinks that Janie should be happy because he provides for her and because he puts her on a high chair for the community to see, but these are not the things that Janie needs to be happy. With Tea Cake his company, affection, and love is all she needs.
            Janie is comfortable enough in her marriage with Tea Cake that she is able to speak what she feels. She does not hold anything back and does not bite her tongue when she has something to say to Tea Cake. She feels free to express her thoughts and concerns. After Tea Cake returns from his two day hiatus, Janie warns, “Tea Cake, if you don’t hurry up and tell me, Ah’ll take and beat yo’ head flat as uh dime” (122). This quote contains some harsh words, but their love is strong enough where they understand each other and Tea Cake regards the threat as Janie’s love for him. Another powerful line is when Janie lectures, “looka heah, Tea Cake, if you ever go off from me and have a good time lak dat and then come back heah tellin’ me how nice Ah is, Ah specks tuh kill yuh dead. You heah me?” (124). Janie is expressing violent thoughts which show another side of Janie since she is never abusive in her previous marriages. Janie has no problem speaking up to Tea Cake because she is in a relationship where she wants her feelings to be known and addressed. With Joe, Janie silenced her voice so as not to upset him and for fear that she would be struck. Janie and Tea Cake communicate to each other which make their marriage stand out from her other marriages. When Janie talks, Tea Cake listens.
            Janie’s feelings of love and marriage are a continuing theme in the novel. Chapter 13 contains good material that shows that Janie and Tea Cake’s love and marriage are real and strong. Before this chapter there is concern as to whether Tea Cake really loves Janie or if he is just after her money, but after reading this chapter, it is apparent that the love that they find together is one of a kind. This chapter also reveals Janie’s realization that she undoubtedly loves Tea Cake too. At the end of the chapter, the very last sentence is, “Janie look[s] down on [Tea Cake] and [feels] a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place” (128). This is the first time that Janie completely falls in love; she has never felt anything like how she is feeling now about Tea Cake. She finally uncovers what true love is.