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Themes of community and Janie’s relationship to it are prevalent throughout “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. Chapter 12 speaks loudly about what it means to be a part of a community that is steeped in folk culture, and it addresses the question, does Janie, who proves to be an untraditional woman, ever become part of that community? The answer is yes, but only on a superficial level. The community of Eatonville acts as an instrument of control of Janie, but Janie herself acts as an instrument of change, disrupting the traditions that have made the community what it is.
The chapter opens with the narrator describing in almost disbelief the town’s observations of Janie and Tea Cake after Jody’s death. Even though by now it has been nine months since Jody’s death, Janie is still referred to as Mrs. Mayor Starks. The town of Eatonville, which is steeped in folk tradition, sees her simply as an extension of her husband, and not as her own person. Prior to Jody’s death, she had only been seen and not heard by the town, carrying on as the dutiful wife of the mayor. By acquiescing to Jody’s demands for her to keep quiet, she has carried on the tradition of the town of allowing her husband to act as her “owner” and therefore her controller. Jody constantly kept her in the background, making her seem more like a piece of furniture than a person. Through Phoebe and Sam Watson’s conversation, it is obvious that the people of the town believed that Janie was content with the place they had created for her, as well as the position Jody had placed her in through marriage. What they never realized was that the place they had placed her in and the role they had established for her was not her choice. Janie herself was never content with just the material things she possessed. “Ah wants tuh utilize mahself all over.” This statement proves Janie’s desire to break free from the set norms of Eatonville and realize her full potential. Although she is free from the economic burdens that most women of her time faced, she is still bound by the local mores of a woman’s rightful and proper place. She is tired of simply being an extension of her husband. But in Eatonville, a woman’s economic security is tied directly to her husband.
But it isn’t until after Jody’s death when she attends a picnic
that
she is actually seen outside her house, participating in activities
that
don’t necessarily fit into the town’s perception of her role as the
first
lady of Eatonville. She is seen doing such “shameful” activities
as hunting, fishing, baseball games, and playing checkers. These
activities, whilst they are perfectly normal, are seen as an affront to
the community’s idea of what Janie should and should not do. Not
only is Tea Cake younger than Janie, he is of a lower socio-economic
class.
Therefore, Janie has violated the town’s tradition of staying within
the
boundaries pertaining to marriage that have been set forth for her.
Prior
to meeting Tea Cake, she was isolated. She was simply seen and
not
heard by any one but her husband. Even after the death of Jody,
the
town notices her, but only in a superficial manner. They comment
on her choice of clothing, color of clothing, and hair style.
They
feel that Janie’s outward change in her appearance is a “sign of
possession”
by Tea Cake, and a show of disrespect for her late husband.
However,
Janie tells Phoebe, “De world picked out black and white for mournin’,
Joe didn’t. So I wasn’t wearin’ it for him. Ah was wearin
it
for de rest of y’all.” This statement is testament to how much
Janie
was trying to please the community, instead of showing her true
feelings.
What the community fails to realize is that the change is Janie’s
choice,
not Tea Cake’s. The community becomes very concerned and takes on
the role of protector of Janie.
However, as the town has a superficial perception of Janie, they also
have a superficial perception of Tea Cake. During Sam Watson’s
conversation
with Phoebe, he tells her “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.” It is
obvious
that the town has never really come to know either Janie or Tea
Cake.
They have made the erroneous assumption that Janie is unable to see
through
any kind of trick someone would use to swindle her out of her money,
and
they assume that Tea Cake is only up to no good.
The only person to address the town’s concerns to Janie is her friend Phoebe. It is through Phoebe that Janie learns of the town’s concerns for her “welfare” with Tea Cake. Phoebe tells Janie that everyone is talking about how Tea Cake is dragging her down, or out of her social class. This passage speaks of the town’s desire to keep Janie in the very role that they had created and defined for her. In this way the town is acting as an agent of control. But Janie has proven to be rather unconventional. She has already realized that her social standing was not of her own making. It was created for her through her marriage. But it is here that she actually voices her thoughts about it to her friend, Phoebe. “Jody classed me off. Ah didn’t. Naw, Phoeby, Tea Cake ain’t draggin me off nowhere Ah don’t want tuh go. Ah always did want tuh git round uh whole heap, but Jody wouldn’t ‘low me tuh. When Ah wasn’t in de store he wanted me tuh jes sit wid folded hands and sit dere. And Ah’d sit dere wid de walls creepin’ up on me and squeezing’ all de life outa me. Phoeby, dese educated women got uh heap of things to sit down and consider. Somebody done tole ’em what to set down for. Nobody ain’t told poor me, so sittin’ still worries me. Ah wants tuh utilize mahself all over.” Here we find that Janie was never happy in the repressed role of first lady. She reveals only to her friend that she Janie never really establishes a relationship with the community because she fails to fall into the role that they have created for her.
In order to be part of a community she has to be willing to give up some of her freedom which would also mean giving up part of her personal identity. In the end though, Janie ends up coming back to Eatonville, the very town that never accepted her as an individual. But by leaving, even for a brief period of time, Janie asserted her independence from the controls that the community established. Janie never establishes a true relationship with the entire town, but we discover that it is her relationship with her friend Phoebe and her true love, Tea Cake, which are the most important to her.