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Jonah Twardosz

Ms. Hubbell

English 1 Honors, Period 1

7 December 2022

The Strands of Freedom

Is it possible for a Black woman to gain freedom in a racist patriarchal society? In Their

Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston it asks just that question as Jaine a Black

woman in the 20th century, attempts to find the answer. Jaine begins her story in The Everglades

where she gets into an unhappy marriage with a rich black man named Logan Killicks, and as a

result, she runs away from him. Jaine ends up in another unhappy marriage with Joe Starks, a

very controlling man who always dreams for more, but once he dies she is again free. Although

soon after Joe dies she meets a man named Tea Cake who she is in a happy marriage until he dies

and so she goes home back to the Everglades. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale

Hurston she uses Jaine’s hair to symbolize her freedom throughout the book as proven when

Logan Killicks and Joe Starks restrict her freedom, when Jaine seemingly reclaims it, and finally

when Jaine truly becomes free by letting down and combing her hair.

Hurston uses Jaine’s hair to symbolize her freedom throughout the book and when it is

taken, as shown when Logan Killicks and Joe Starks restrict that freedom by either ceasing to

wonder at the hair or to try and hide it from the world. In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie

was forced by her grandmother to marry a rich Black man by the name of Logan Killicks, even

though she didn’t love him. Logan however did love Janie doing almost everything for her and

pampering her but "Long before the year was up, Janie noticed that her husband had stopped

talking in rhymes to her. He had ceased to wonder at her long black hair and finger it” (Hurston
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31). This quote shows how Logan used to wonder at her hair and play with it, but after the “year

was up” he stopped. This quote shows the beginning of a shift in Logan as before he allowed her

to do as she wished while he still did “wonder” at her hair but now that he has “ceased to

wonder” it shows how he will cease to allow her to do as she wishes instead trying to make her

do as he wishes. Another piece of evidence is how he has stopped conversing with Jaine in

rhymes. This quote shows how before when he allowed her to do as she wished he still spoke in

verses trying and attempting to make her love him as he loves her but now “the year” is over and

with it Jaine’s freedom. Another excellent example of a man restricting her freedom comes in the

form of Joe Starks, a wealthy entrepreneur with never-ending dreams. Joe Starks soon after

meeting Jaine convinces her to come with him to an all-Black town. Soon after arriving he

quickly becomes the mayor naming the town Eatonville and quickly after he sets up a shop

where he makes Jaine work. Although one day after catching Walter, a resident of Eatonville,

brushing Jaine’s hair he forced Jaine to wear a head rag whenever she went to the store, and

Jaine hated it. To a woman who dreamed of freedom both in life and in sexuality “This business

of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it. Her hair was NOT going to show in

the store” (Hurston 64). This quote is saying how Joe is forcing Jaine to wear a head rag in the

store even though she hates it. Joe Starks, a very controlling and possessive man, is forcing her to

hide her hair because in his eyes her hair belongs solely to him. He sees her hair as a beautiful

part of her that should be exclusive to his eyes alone. This also symbolizes how Jaine’s hair

symbolizes freedom because in the same way Joe sees her hair as a beautiful object exclusive to

him he sees her freedom as a beautiful thing that he must control at all times. After Joe Starks

death one would think that Jaine is free, but is she?

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Through Jaine’s hair, Hurston is able to capture the essence of freedom both when Jaine

has and doesn’t have it, two great examples of this are when following the death of Joe Starks

Jaine burns all her head rags and marries another man who seemingly allows her to be free.

Following the tragic demise of Joe Starks and therefore his control over Jaine, Jaine is

determined to destroy anything that could still be used to control her so “Before she slept that

night she burnt up every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her

hair in one thick braid swinging well below her waist. That was the only change people saw in

her” (Hurston 106). This quote shows how Jaine reclaims her freedom by burning her head rags

which served as the physical representation of Joe Starks control over her. Jaine is also seen to let

her hair down below her waist which is directly defying Joe Starks will to have it hidden and

proving that she is completely free from his control. After Jaine is free from Joe one would think

that she would relish and keep her freedom sacred but does she? Janie after moving on from Joe

soon meets a poor man by the name of Tea Cake. Tea Cake is not only much poorer than Jaine

but he is also much younger than she is, but there is one thing that sets him apart from the other

men Jaine has met. Tea Cake is kind and fair to her and seemingly allows her to keep her

freedom, so Jaine marries him and moves to the Everglades, a rural farming town. One night

after moving to the Everglades Jaine comments on Tea Cake combing her hair

“Why, Tea Cake? Whut good do combin’ mah hair do you? It's mah comfortable, not yourn.”

“It’s mine too, Ah been sleepin’ so good for more’n uh week cause Ah been wishin’ so bad tuh

git mah hands in yo’ hair, It’s so pretty. It feels jus’ lak underneath uh dove’s wing next to mah

face. (Hurston 123.

In this quote, Tea Cake is combing Jaine’s hair and Jaine is questioning Tea Cake's motives in

doing so. Tea Cake is a man unlike any other she has met, a man that allows her to keep her
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freedom, but does he? In this quote, we can see that Tea Cake is controlling Jaine by controlling

her hair, As Jaine’s hair symbolizes her freedom the fact that Tea Cake is combing it shows that

Tea Cake has control over Janie’s freedom. This is proven when Tea Cake answers Jaine’s

questioning by saying “It’s mine too” showing that Tea Cake doesn’t see Jaine’s freedom as only

her own but as his as well. After Tea Cake dies does Jaine finally reclaim her freedom?

As one can see Jaine’s hair represents her freedom but does Jaine reclaim it after Tea

Cake dies and she returns to her hometown only to be judged and comb her hair? After nearly

two years of excitement and emotional turmoil, Jaine finally returns home. As Janie walks back

into her hometown her arrival is commented on by the women who say “What dat ole forty year

ole ʼoman doin’ wid her hair swingin’ down her back lak some young gal”(Hurston 2)? This

quote shows Jaine is yet again letting her hair swing down her back. One could see a parallel

between after Joe Starks died and after Tea Cake dies. In both situations, Jaine symbolizes her

freedom by letting her hair swing freely. This is proven when the women say that she is allowing

her hair to flow similar to “some yang gal”. In this time period, women were only really free

when they were young girls so the women saying how Jaine lets down her hair like a young girl

shows how similar to a young girl in the aspect of freedom, Not only does Jaine show her

freedom by letting down her hair but she also is able to do as she wants with her hair as she is

able to do what she wants with her life. After Jaine tells her story to her close friend Pheoby

Janie is finally able to fully appreciate her newfound freedom “Now, in her room, the place

tasted fresh again. The wind through the open windows had broomed out all the fetid feeling of

absence and nothingness. She closed in and sat down. Combing road-dust out of her hair.

Thinking” (Hurston 123). In this quote, Jaine sits alone in her room and combs road dust from

her hair. This quote shows Jaine to be combing road dust from her hair which symbolizes Jaine’s
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freedom as opposed to Tea Cake controlling Jaine’s hair she is controlling her own hair. The

“road-dust” symbolizes all of the troubles she has been through and the fact she is combing it

“from her hair” shows how Jaine is finally free from all her troubles.

In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God she shows how Jaine’s hair

symbolizes freedom, and when that freedom is stolen from her, as evidence when Logan and Joe

Starks restrict her freedom, when she thinks she reclaims it by burning her head rags and marring

a man who seemingly allows her to keep it, and when she finally becomes free after she returns

home and is able to express her freedom when she lets her hair down and combs it herself. In

conclusion, Janie's hair undoubtedly symbolizes freedom as proven throughout this essay using

examples from all of Jaine’s husbands and from Jaine herself. One can only be truly free when

they know what it is like to not be free.

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Works Cited

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006.