Their Eyes Were Watching God

While discussing the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, in class specifically about the different interpretations about the end- I feel as though Janie is now at peace with her life. Having killed Teacake to protect herself, she yet knows that he loved her and will always want to be with her. From the beginning of the novel when in a relationship with Logan, it is clear that she did not want to be with him but was with him for the sake of her grandmother. Logan was not someone she genuinely loved and was expressed anger towards him especially when she walked out of their relationship without saying a word to him. When considering her relationship with Jody, she fell in love with his infatuation and his looks; however, as their relationship progressed her feelings towards him weakened. Jody was not a good husband to her because of his way of degrading her and belittling her self leaving her to split up with him as well. However, Teacake she genuinely loved and had feelings for despite his unhealthy background in which she was able to look past and also look beyond the small talk people gave to her about him being younger and poorer. In one of the last scenes where the setting flashes back to the porch with Pheoby, "There was a finished silence after that so that for the first time they could hear the wind picking at the pine trees." (Hurston, 192)- this scene paints a picture in my head where Janie is now content with her life and the ways things have ended up. Take in consideration one of the last lines from the novel: "He could never be dead until she herself had finished feeling and thinking. The kiss of his memory made pictures of love and light against the wall. Here was peace." (Hurston, 193). Though she may have wished Teacake was still with her, she was at peace knowing that their relationship with each other was true love. The hardships and sacrifices Janie had made, had shaped her into the person she is and brought her to happiness. As she pulls in her horizon, her request of finding the world is found within herself.