Their Eyes Were Watching God

Essay Introduction

Although the hurricane does dominate Janie, her soul is not her own for the entirety of
the novel. It is barely even her own before she becomes married, though after she marries
Killicks, he restricts her so much that it becomes even less of her own. This furthers when she
marries Starks. Despite trying to free her soul, it is clamped down upon by Starks. It is not until
after Starks dies does she truly know her body, then does she begin to own it. This is furthered
when she meets Tea Cake and he liberates her. From this point on, her soul does indeed remain
triumphantly her own, but only after Starks dies does this begin to happen.