Not a Fan of Mr. Cake
While reading Their
Eyes Were Watching God, I felt as though the novel went from being a story about
Janie to one centered around her relationship with Tea Cake. I find it odd how
much focus his character gets, and the positive, loving nature with which Janie
speaks and thinks about Tea Cake up to the end of the novel, because I personally
thought there were a lot of parallels between Janie’s relationship with Tea
Cake and her past soured relationships.
There are
certainly key differences between Tea Cake and the husbands who came before him.
His and Janie’s relationship, which develops from a natural chemistry
uninfluenced by finances, seems almost like the young love that Janie wanted
but missed out on, and Tea Cake actually seems to care about Janie’s happiness.
To Janie, these things clearly make all the difference, which is understandable
at first. However, Tea Cake’s red flags and, eventually, abuse leave me
wondering why Janie’s adoration does not wear off, and why even the very end of
the novel is about Janie’s grief about Tea Cake.
Throughout their
relationship, Janie does not trust Tea Cake. Early on, she hides money from him
because she is worried he might steal it, she does not trust him not to cheat
on her with Nunkie, and in the end, she stops herself from unloading his gun
out of fear that he would shoot her. And frankly, Tea Cake is not a very
trustworthy person. He first demonstrates this trait when he gambles and spends
all of Janie’s money. Additionally, one aspect of their relationship that I think
is particularly reminiscent of Janie’s relationship with Joe is the way Janie
molds her life around Tea Cake. Though Janie has more choice in her
relationship with Tea Cake, she still ultimately goes along with the way he
wants to live his life, never really exploring the kind of life she
wants. Finally, and most importantly, Tea Cake is abusive toward Janie and almost
kills her. There should really be no redemption from the first instance of
violence, even considering the culture that encourages domestic abuse, and I am
a bit confused why that instance is not a turning point in Janie’s and Tea Cake’s
relationship like it is in Janie’s and Joe’s relationship. Yes, the
circumstances are a bit different, but it is ultimately still a demonstration
of Tea Cake’s lack of regard for Janie’s well-being and willingness to hurt
her. This threat of violence comes to a head when Tea Cake tries to shoot Janie.
Even if Tea Cake does have rabies, I think that, no matter the circumstances, killing
one’s partner would never cross the mind of a person who actually loves their
partner.
Janie’s and Tea
Cake’s romance is deeply flawed and unhealthy, but Janie never stops framing it
as a love story. I suppose that relationship is the closest thing she has had
to her pear tree fantasy, but in the end, it feels more like Janie has
projected that dream of a perfect relationship onto her marriage to Tea Cake. Janie
keeps being tied down by the men in her life, and I hope the end of the novel
is an indication of that pattern ending.
I agree, I was also quite surprised at Janie's reaction to Tea Cake's physical abuse. I think that the fact that she also hits him or tries to hit him at times makes me understand why she didn't feel as much of an imbalance of power then than she did with Joe. I would also say that her leaving her own source of income, the store, to be with Tea Cake didn't feel right to me, since the one thing she had in her relationship with Tea Cake at the beginning which she didn't with the others, was autonomy. I also agree that the end of the novel ending with Janie alone is pretty meaningful, the feeling left by three husbands coming and going is completely different from failed marriages with two and ending on a good note with the third - it would place even more emphasis on Tea Cake standing out from the others.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you end this post a bit optimistically about Janie's future. I think it's definitely significant that at the end of the book she ends up living by herself. Her relationship with Tea Cake could definitely be confusing at times and I found myself frequently confused by it and exactly what it meant for her as a character. I had a lot of trouble reconciling Tea Cake's actions with the way that Janie seemed to view him. But in the end they do not ride off into the sunset together, and I think that this gives the book a very different tone.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the points you made, and I think your insight on their relationship is really interesting. I definitely think Janie was blinded by love, and having Tea Cake be her first real love definitely made a difference for her character-- she is shown as carefree and happy with him, but she definitely makes excuses for him and makes bad decisions because of her blindness. I think Janie's grief at the end of the novel is sad, but not just in the way she sees it. It is sad that she has lost her love, but it is also sad that she had given so much to him and possibly placed some of her self-worth onto their relationship. I do think that the ending alludes a chance for her to find herself, and I hope that is how it is meant to be interpreted.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting post, and it made me think about Janie's personal growth and empowerment. If her empowerment happened while she was still molding her life around Tea Cake and fighting to maintain their relationship no matter what, how did it happen? How would she have been affected if she didn't mold her life around Tea Cake? I think Janie definitely grew as a character in this novel and think it's significant that she did it while being in these types of relationships.
ReplyDeleteI think that the reason she remains so infatuated with him and sees past the abuse she experiences is because he is comparatively much better than the men she has been before up to that point. Because of that, she is willing to see past pretty much any faults of his as long as he doesn't approach the level of Jody for example. To some extent, this might be realistic. Someone who hasn't properly experienced what a relationship should be like might in fact look past major red flags and the wrong doings of their partner simply because they either don't know better or don't really care anymore.
ReplyDeleteI am also not the biggest fan of Tea Cake. The relationship was far from perfect, but I would like to think she ultimately learned the most from her relationship with him because it was different from the other two, given she had a *choice* in taking more power. I am so glad she stood up for herself and decided to kill him for the better. Not only would it stop him from hurting, but it also helped her gain a new sense of independence. I viewed that scene as her killing her old self. That's a bit harsh, but I definitely saw it as a scene of growth.
ReplyDeleteI'm not an expert on rabies and its effects, but as far as I understand it, the disease does cause extreme dementia and mental degradation in its advanced stages, and it indeed can cause someone to do harm to a person they love. This is why the doctor is recommending that Janie put Tea Cake in a hospital, but she's worried that this will make him more paranoid, confirm his worst fears about her. Jane has to somehow grasp the idea that this man pointing a gun at her is, in a very real sense, no longer Tea Cake, and yet it must be unimaginably hard for her to actually pull the trigger.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post. I do think that Janie's relationship is different than her past relationships because it's her only relationship where Janie isn't pressured into it. I don't think that I ever found Tea Cake to be a trustworthy. As you mentioned, he stole money from Janie just for the fun of it. Additionally, Janie is insecure seeing Tea Cake with another woman. To be honest, Janie doesn't have good luck finding good men and her standards fall considering Tea Cake doesn't have much to give her except 'good' times and she still falls for him.
ReplyDelete