da Hair


There isn’t quite as much blatant symbolism in Their Eyes were Watching God as there was in Invisible Man, but I think we’ve all noticed it recurring in one thing in particular: Janie’s hair. Janie’s hair is her most shining outward quality, long and luscious, with an intoxicating effect on men. Not one man is immune to her abundant waves of healthy dark hair, and the townies are obsessed with it (some a little too much, like that one guy who just kind of touched it). Her hair served as both bait and lure of Jody, reeling him in like a fat trout to a juicy shiny worm. Under the flouncing light of the sun, her hair flipped flirtatiously about, young and playful. This defining feature of Janie is an outward expression of her heart. It changes with the circumstances of her life and the weight they bear on her spirit. Janie lost her autonomy in her marriage to Jody. She lost herself. Her hair was robbed of its luster and glory under the jealousy of Joe, and became hidden beneath the head rag of his insecurity. Under that head rag, her hair was not her own. Janie and her hair grew older, ever more stooped and hopeless under the forced submission, and all they could do was long for a change. Then, Jody’s death set the phoenix aflame. It burnt the sickly old body of Janie’s sense of self. From the ashes was reborn her old spirit, and with it came the coil of her long braid, unfurling down her back. After twenty five years of hiding her beauty and talents behind the pride of a man, Janie could finally share who she was without criticism (from the one person who was supposed to support her unconditionally). She could finally start relearning who she was and do the things she wanted to. And remarkably, after all the strife that her hair had brought for her, Janie did not resent it. She would never again hide it underneath something, even if that might help ward off unsolicited suitors or appease certain gossips from the town—finally, she realized that it was her turn to love herself, and she could do whatever she wanted to. Her hair was hers to flaunt and appreciate. Jody’s death not only freed Janie, but gave her the willingness to find herself and the way she wanted to live her life. Janie could finally spend some time being single and learning about herself, as well as set standards for the people she let into her life. Janie let her hair down and found contentment in herself. When Tea Cake came along, hopefully she was ready for him. I mean, realistically she’s probably not ready. No one’s ever really ready for love, right? I really want to see Janie happy. I know it ends though, so that’s not going to happen. Tea Cake is ideal so far, though. Finally Janie has a man who will admire her hair and not try to hide it; recognize who she is and not try to change her; maybe even take care of her non-physical needs at last. We all want Tea Cake to be as good as he seems—who doesn’t want to believe that functional relationships can exist? He did scratch the dandruff out of her hair, and to reiterate the insights of Bella, that mirrors primate grooming and shows that he actually cares for her needs and pleasure. Who knows. Maybe third time’s the charm.

Comments

  1. HadiyahOctober 19, 2019 at 12:29 PM

    yeah i really hope third time's the charm. Jody really did suck, he took so much away from her. He was so controlling of her that she lost autonomy & a love for herself. I like how you used her hair to show what state janie was in. When it was out, she was happy, & when it was in a head rag, she was hopeless. I do hope Tea Cake is ideal, i want to believe that functional relationships can exist.

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  2. KatieOctober 20, 2019 at 11:18 AM

    I think that Janie's hair is important to monitor while we read the rest of the book because already we can see so many parallels to what's happening in Janie's life (especially her love life) and how her hair is described. I would be surprised if we didn't see this symbol for the rest of the book because, as you mentioned, this symbol is really the only one we've seen so far in this book. I think instead of trying to put in several symbols, Hurston may be trying to really develop the symbolism of Janie's hair.

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  3. Joanna's BlogOctober 22, 2019 at 2:17 PM

    I agree, Janie's beautiful hair symbolizes her and her free spirit. Like you said, everyone takes notice of this and Joe (being the misogynistic king he is) forces Janie to cover her hair with the rag. After Joe's death, she celebrates her freedom from him by freeing her own hair. With this, we see Janie finally doing things for herself and like you said, flaunting it. Enter Tea Cake. Although he is ideal so far, Janie's infatuation with him does kind of lead her to just pick up her life and leave with him. Luckily for her, she finds happiness in Jacksonville and the Everglades since she is with him BUT the point is that sometimes I feel as though she just blindly goes along with what he says. Their relationship is functional... but at times I see Tea Cake being controlling of Janie which reminds me of her marriage to Joe. We'll see what happens...

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  4. Minji ChoiOctober 30, 2019 at 4:25 PM

    The recurring mention of Janie's hair in the novel kind of reminds me of the narrator's suitcase in Invisible Man. They're both symbols of the character's development/situation as the novel progresses. I think it's very fitting to use hair as a symbol of freedom because this is a pretty commonly used connection. With the flappers, their short bobs were a representation of their freedom and refusal to conform. I think that Janie's hair is similar in that it represents her freedom as a person, but especially as a woman.

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  5. IsabelaNovember 3, 2019 at 3:20 PM

    I think that you are so right about her hair being some sort of metaphor for something. I think the way I understood it was similar, in that her hair represented her true self in a way. The metaphor of using long hair to symbolize freedom has long been used, so I think that there is no doubt about that. The interesting thing that you brought up though was if she had her hair down when she meets Tea Cake, we are assuming that she is now 'ready' for love. But you bring up a great point in wondering if anyone could be ready for love. But I do think that the fact that she had her hair down and in a way had kind of become herself again was important to her meeting Tea Cake. She was not broken when she met him, more cautious, which is a totally healthy way of feeling. ANYWAYS. Tea Cake is great.

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