In reading DuCille's piece, I reacted strongly to a few of the points that were made. First and foremost, Ann DuCille discusses the particular view of Their Eyes Were Watching God by critics Diane Sadoff and Susan Willis that revolves around the idea that Janie's husbands had to disappear in order for her to be happy. While reading, I actually did not think too much about the fact that all she left one of her husbands, and the other two ended up dead and then she was finally truly happy. I looked at it all as the progression of her life. She was completely silenced during her first marriage, she learned so much about herself, and what she truly wanted during and after her second marriage and I believe she was happy during and after her final marriage. She'd gotten what she always wanted and knew what kind of woman she was meant to be. She found her voice, she realized that the approval of the townspeople and everyone around her was not a factor in her happiness. The third paragraph of DuCille's piece suggested that in order for Janie to ever achieve true happiness, her husbands had to be out of the picture because of the systematic inequality in the institution of heterosexual marriage, I agree and disagree and agree with this valid point about marriage. I know the power dynamic between a man a woman in their marriage is, in general, unequal but I don't agree that in order for a woman to achieve "true self-hood," she has to ward off marriage completely, or that she cannot be fulfilled and happy while married to a man.
Another point in this article that stuck out to me was when when DuCille discusses the idea that maybe the whole point of the book was not so much to denounce men, but to highlight the importance of the friendships and bonds between women. When DuVille initially brings up this point, she talks about how the power of patriarchy was pushed in the book not only by men (such as Janie's first two husbands) but also by her grandmother. Nanny pushed Janie into her first marriage with the hopes that she would realize how practical and important security was and that she would eventually forget about the silly notion of love. DuCille then goes on to talk about how if love of men is foolish, then the alternative is choosing yourself, choosing to love yourself. I guess the problem that I have with this idea is that I don't believe that it has to be either/or. I don't believe that if a woman chooses to love a man wholeheartedly then there is no room for her to love herself even more. Hearts don't work that way.
DuCille the goes on to make her point, discussing the importance of the solidarity between women that the book subtly emphasizes. One of the examples is the friendship between Janie and Pheoby, DuCille brings up the point that Willis makes about how Janie empowers Pheoby to make her husband to take her fishing. I agree that this one moment of Janie inspiring Pheoby to desire more within her marriage is significant, but it is not enough to lead me to believe that this novel aimed to emphasize the solidarity of women. While reading, I noticed how many times (as Janie grew as an individual) Janie strayed away from the outer community. When she married Tea Cake, she actually left town with him. The town that she once longed to be apart of. That sense of community no longer was important to her. And at the end, when she decided to come back home, she said that she knew the town was going to gossip about her but she did not care. She was happy within herself. I think this was one of the bigger pictures of the book.
I agree Janie finally begins to find her voice during her third marriage. The book stresses that Janie looked for equality within her marriage and although Tea Cake was much younger than Janie, their relationship provided that for her. Which is why it was also so difficult for her to come to terms with killing him. After 2 failed marriages she finally found the man that she wanted but he left her (mentally & emotionally), just as when she left her previous husbands. I also do not agree with Ducille's comment that you must love men (or partner) if not the other choice is yourself. It implies that if you cannot give your husband your all than the only option is being alone and providing that for yourself instead. But a woman should not have to sacrifice to choose one or the other, just as a man is not expected to do the same. Janie was not ready to love her other 2 husbands, she was still learning about herself, when she began to love Tea Cake, she was at a mature age where she learned much about herself and was happy with the woman she had became.
ReplyDeleteI had very similar thoughts and feelings regarding the duCille text. While I found myself not fully agreeing with some of the points made, the text challenged my initial interpretations of the text, and also pushed me to think more pointedly about those interpretations and develop a more comprehensive understanding of various aspects of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some of duCille's statements regarding the theme of solidarity between women, and interpretations of the meanings and significance of Janie's marriage are mildly cryptic in the sense that they do not account for moments in the narrative when her assertions are not true all the way throughout. For example, while Tea Cake's death might have in some ways mirrored a kind of liberation for Janie in some senses, I think we have to account for the liberation that her choice to marry Tea Cake and leave town gave her. I want to emphasize choice here because I feel that the freedom she was able to exercise with Tea Cake came not necessarily from him in the sense that he gave or even had the authority to give her that, but instead in the choices that she made about him. Equally I think her choices in the ways in which she dealt with all three of her husbands can be telling of her agency throughout the novel.
While I do not disagree entirely with some of duCille's assertions, I feel that they may not necessarily account completely for nuances and multiplicity in interpretation and the nature of the novel as deeply complex.
I also agree that duCille's arguments and statements about the solidarity of women throughout the book can be signified by the relationship Janie shared with Pheoby for example. I think Janie inspires something within Pheoby when she says she is going to "make Sam take me fishing wid him after this." duCille makes a great point however that Pheoby wasn't going to go with Janie or make Sam do any of the housework, but that she just wanted Sam to take her with him.
ReplyDeleteI do not think this solidarity of women was the main premise of the book because these points still lead us back to the patriarchal society and male dominance. The idea of power and powerlessness duCille talked about really intrigued me. I think this was a overarching theme, along with Janie finding out how to love herself, which I believed she found through realizing who she wanted to have power over herself. I really liked the idea duCille talked about that stifles women's self realization. This was the reality between dream and truth. Janie struggled with this and trying to figure out who she really loved and who she was happy with, especially herself.