During the 1920s, women were continuously gaining more rights while gender roles were becoming increasingly blurred. In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character, Janie, displays many of these changes as her character and relationships develop. By looking at the text in the novel, we know that Janie is about 40 years old during the hurricane of 1928, meaning that each of her marriages occur at very similar times to the gradual social change and opacity in gender roles during the decades leading up to and including the 1920s. Through our understanding of changes in gender roles and societal expectations of women leading up to and during the 1920s, we are better able to comprehend how Janie’s marriages match up with the periods of change and advancement in women’s equality.

In the late 1800s women had strictly defined roles. A woman was expected to find a husband by the time she was 25 years old, sometimes even sooner. The husband was usually about five year older than her, which helped the man retain a dominant position in the family structure, since older people are often associated with a higher level of authority (Hughes). However, this also ensured that the man would be able to financially support a family because an older man would generally have a more job experience and therefore a better paying job. A potential suitor needed to have earned enough money to prove to his betrothed’s family that he could support his future wife. As for education, women did get one, but it was to prepare them to help teach their children and to be a good wife, not to get a job and support their family. A well-educated high class woman of the time was expected to “have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages…; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions…” (Hughes) To reiterate, this was the ideal education of a wealthy woman, and was not realistic for someone growing up in a lower class setting. This quote however does show how society valued the education of women at the time. They were educated based on the gender roles that were supposed to be fulfilled by them. In fact, there were doctors during the mid to late 1800s who “reported that too much study actually had a damaging effect on the ovaries, turning attractive young women into dried-up prunes” (Hughes). The purpose of these “reports” were most likely to keep men in a dominant position in society, and having a good education does generally relate to one’s social class. During this time, it was also frowned upon for a woman to openly desire satisfaction sexually and emotionally. “Women were assumed to desire marriage because it allowed them to become mothers” (Hughes). Men would often use prostitutes before they would get married and they were still considered to be respectable. Women, however, were expected to abstain from sexual activities until they were married in order to retain their “purity” (Hughes). The ways in which women were treated within society because of gender roles and “science” during this period had a subjugating effect on them. Men had overwhelming dominance in society, which too often meant that women were left unhappy in their marriages and social life.

The situation that Janie was in while she was living with Nanny and while she was married to Brother Logan Killicks strongly parallels the role of women in the late 1800s. The only thing that differed from my research was the age difference between Janie and Logan. We know from the text that Janie was 16 years old when she was first married off to Logan Killicks, which is a little bit younger than what the research says would be normal. We only know that Logan is described as old by Janie, with quotes like “He look like some ole skullhead in de grave yard” but we don’t know exactly how old he is. Logan was, however, financially independent and able to support Janie, which was one of the reasons Nanny married her to Logan in the first place. Logan being able to financially support his family and Janie being married off to a financially secure husband involuntarily were both normal during this point in history. In the novel, Janie stated that “Us lived dere havin’ fun till de chillun at school got to teasin’ me ‘bout livin’ in de white folks’ back-yard” (Hurston 9) Based on this, we know that Janie got an education of some kind, but we do not know to what extent except that she was no longer in school after she married Logan. A lower education was normal for women to have during the late 1800s, as they were expected to know enough to be able to teach any children that they had to a point. The largest parallel that can be seen between the time Janie’s first marriage and the historical context of that period is Nanny’s response after witnessing Janie’s sexual desire. Nanny was horrified to see Janie kissing Johnny Taylor, and her first response is to immediately marry off Janie to Logan Killicks. To the reader this most likely seems like a huge overreaction on the part of Nanny, but Nanny’s reaction matches up with that point in history. Women were expected to show no signs of open sexual desire, and were expected to abstain from any sexual activities until marriage. And Janie was left unhappy in her relationship with Logan Killicks, like many women at the time.

During the first 15 years of the 20th century, women were granted more legal rights and they advanced socially, but men were still by far considered the dominant sex. Suffragettes “demanded, with some success, increased employment and educational opportunities for women, reform of married women’s property law, more equitable divorce laws, and repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, which subjected alleged prostitutes to examination for venereal disease” (Emsley) Just before the turn of the century, married women were granted the right to live in a different house than their husband if they wanted to. However, despite this law coming into effect, many of the women who would have wanted to live separately from their husbands could not because they did not have the financial means to do so. These women were often forced to stay in unhappy marriages. In the years between 1900 and the start of World War I, protests and suffrage campaigns took place regularly with the hopes of making progress. Progression was made because of the influence of the protests and the outspoken suffrage movement. For example, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became the first female doctor, and an increased number of women became enrolled in higher level education, while gaining more social equality because of new laws being passed (Trueman). However, there were many setbacks too. The women’s suffrage movement lost a decent amount of support because some of the protests turned violent. “Under the leadership of Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, the Women’s Social and Political Union staged demonstrations and engaged in acts of vandalism such as breaking windows by throwing stones” (Emsley). This violence gave critics of the women’s suffrage movement an easy argument to hold against them. Also, some women spoke out against the suffrage movement, including Queen Victoria of England, who said “Let women be what God intended, a helpmate for man, but with totally different duties and vocations” (Trueman). With this statement, Queen Victoria was representing the women who preferred the way things were, and her being one of the most influential women in the world at the time provided a pretty large counter argument towards the women’s suffrage movement. 

Janie’s second marriage reflects the period from about 1900 to the start of World War I. Janie running away from Logan to go with Joe Starks represented the beginning of advancement towards gender equality. She ran away from Logan to get freedom from what she had been forced into. During this period in history, women gained the right to live separately from their husbands if they desired to do so. This is reflected in the novel again by Janie running away with Joe since she ran away from her husband. Joe, however, did not provide as much freedom as Janie wanted. In fact, before running away with Joe, “Janie pulled back a long time because [Joe] did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for far horizon” (Hurston 29). Janie knew that he wouldn’t be everything that she wanted, but he represented a step in the right direction. Just like during the relative historical period, she gained a little bit in terms of what she was looking for, but not nearly enough to be considered equal. Janie’s publicly humiliating Joe in the store is representative of the violent protests of the relative period, as a lot of the men in the town did not approve of her actions. And Janie, just like the women’s suffrage movement, suffered some setbacks to her being able to reach her goal freedom and equality. Janie was forced to run the store for Joe a lot of the time even though she despised it. “The store itself was a pleasant place if only she didn’t have to sell things” (Hurston 51). She was also forced to tie up her hair. When Sam asked Hicks why she keeps her hair tied up, Hicks responded “Maybe he make her do it. Maybe he skeered some de rest of us mens might touch it round dat store. It sho is uh hidden mystery to me” (Hurston 50). Jody made her tie up her hair from the rest of the town to control her. This was a significant action taken by Joe, because Janie’s hair is arguably her most noticeable feature, and not being able to display that feature set her back.

The 1920s are when the suffrage movement made the most progress. The thing that started this golden age for women’s rights and equality was the passing of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The passing of the 19th amendment was able to put things in motion because it finally put women on an equal level with men politically, forcing politicians to appeal to a whole population that cared about progressing the women’s rights movement. This period in American history is known as the “roaring twenties,” and for good reason. This was an age of overwhelming prosperity and change in America. “The “roaring twenties” swept into the family home as well, challenging traditional gender roles… Men and women married for love and affection in the 1920s, which was almost unheard of 20 years before at the turn of the century” (Sanders). While men were still the “head of the household” during this period, and was still expected to support their families, more and more women also began to work outside of the home. For pretty much the first time in history, it was considered relatively normal for both men and women to be out of the house working at a job. Even though the large majority of families were still traditional, in that the husband earning wages and the wife running the house, it was not uncommon for houses to be empty during the day, with both parents at work and all the children in school (Sanders). One other major change that challenged the status quo in the 1920s was the change in women’s fashion. Women began wearing “knee-length skirts-a fashion previously considered obscene-and adopting the radically short “bob” haircut” (Shmoop). This new fashion style became known as the “flapper” look. The new style was “sported by independent young women who flaunted traditional gender norms by smoking, drinking, and dancing at jazz clubs” (Shmoop). The “flapper” look became a new symbol for sexual and social independence for women in the 1920s. The 1920s also saw the beginning of new programs like the American Birth Control League (today known as Planned Parenthood). While these new programs, the American Birth Control League being the most influential, educated women about sex and their bodies, it did challenge traditional moral standards, and was very controversial (Shmoop). The 1920s was the turning point of the women’s suffrage movement. With women gaining equal political rights, the opportunity to work, and the opportunity to get a higher education, gender roles were becoming increasingly blurred, and women finally began to make real progress towards achieving gender equality.

The 1920s era, or the “roaring 20s,” is reflected by Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake close to the end of the novel. First things first, Janie married Tea Cake because of love and passion, which was a key change in how relationships were looked at in the 20s as compared to the decades before. During this period, Janie was pretty much on an equal footing as Tea Cake in terms of their relationship. In fact, when they first met, Tea Cake offered to teach Janie how to play checkers, and Janie was thrilled because “Somebody wanted her to play. Somebody thought it natural for her to play” (Hurston 96). Tea Cake did fill the “head of the household” role when he thought it was necessary, like when he hit Janie to show the other men that he was the boss, and when he took charge during the hurricane. Despite this, Tea Cake respected and listened to Janie’s opinion, like when Janie told him to stop flirting with Nunkie. Janie also followed the pattern of it becoming common for both the husband and wife to be working to support the family. Janie voluntarily began to go out to the fields with Tea Cake to pick beans during the day. It wasn’t just Janie either, as we meet several female characters that work in the fields along with the men, like Nunkie. It was considered normal for the women to work in the fields, and when Janie finally starts, people were surprised because “It was generally assumed that she thought herself too good to work like the rest of the women and that Tea Cake “pomped her up tuh that”” (Hurston 133). This relates strongly to the 1920s, where it was common to see women in the workplace. It wasn’t unheard of before that time, but if a woman was married, she was expected to be able to stay home while the man earned income for the family. Even though Janie is never described dressing up in the way that a “flapper” does. In fact, when she is in the Muck, she is described as wearing “blue denim overalls and heavy shoes” (Hurston 134). However, she does openly display her sexual nature towards Tea Cake, which was something that the “flapper” look was known for. Janie’s other husbands covered up her sexual nature and her attractiveness in some way; Logan made her work on his farm and Joe made her wear the head band to cover her hair. Tea Cake, however, lets Janie wear and do as she pleases, with no real attempt to cover up her attractiveness. Janie’s marriage with Tea Cake is exactly what a relationship in the 1920s would have been like according to the research; it was initiated by love and passion and kept together by relative equality and understanding. 

At the end of the novel, Janie is back in Eatonville talking to her friend, Phoebe. She is not married to anyone and by reading the text, we can assume that she is not looking to marry someone else anytime soon. She is a totally free woman and can do as she pleases. Based on the parallels that were drawn between the gradual progression of the women’s suffrage movement and Janie’s marriages, it would not be unreasonable to state that the freedom Janie has at the end of the book represents Zora Neale Hurston’s vision for the future of women’s rights. Janie’s first marriage with Logan Killicks represents the time just before the turn of the century, when women were still stuck in traditional roles of being married off and under the complete control of their husbands. Her second marriage with Joe Starks relates to the period between 1900 and the start of World War I, when the women’s suffrage movement started to gain some momentum, but very slowly. Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake is paralleled to the progress made by the women’s suffrage movement during the “roaring twenties,” with huge jumps in equal rights both politically and socially. Finally, Janie’s position at the end of the novel after she has fulfilled her dream and reached the horizon represents Hurston’s hopes for the future, where women stand on a level playing field with men, and gender roles have faded away all together.
