Social Expectations In Their Eyes Were Watching God And The Awakening

Glennon Doyle once said,” The norms were created by somebody, and each of us is somebody. We can make our own normal.” Social norms are defined as unwritten rules for how people are expected to behave. This quote depicts the idea of breaking these social expectations and creating our own. This idea of going against social norms and expectations can be seen in the novels “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and “The Awakening”. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” follows the story of Janie Stark's journey of self-discovery and desire for love and independence as she struggles with societal expectations. “The Awakening” portrays the journey of Edna Pontieller as she seeks personal freedom but struggles with strict gender expectations. In the novels “Their

Janie desires to find love and be independent. Early on, she was forced into a marriage by her grandmother. Her grandmother told her to marry for money and said that love will come along the way. It was normal for a woman to marry for money and safety rather than true love. Janie felt that her grandmother was pushing her to conform to a lifestyle she did not truly want. She realizes that she never experienced that love. Janie leaving her first husband, Logan Killicks, strikes the beginning of her self-discovery journey. During the time period of the novel, a woman leaving her husband was seen as being socially unacceptable. Janie left her marriage anyway knowing that it is highly frowned upon and she would be judged for it. She realized that she was in an unhappy marriage and instead of conforming to the social norms, she left in order to pursue her desires. Janie runs off and marries Joe Starks hoping to find love and independence. She sees this marriage as a fresh start and an opportunity to escape her limitations by moving to Eatonville. As their marriage continues, Janie begins to realize that Joe is very controlling. He is very focused on bettering the town by becoming mayor and maintaining a social image. Joe does not allow Janie to speak to the townspeople, forces her to wear her hair up, and forces her to work in his store. Throughout their relationship, Janie submits to her husband and follows all he says. This is expected of the wife to prioritize and care for her husband. She continues to go against the norms when she finally has enough of him talking bad to her and she stands up for herself. Joe was laughed at and this hurt this reputation. This eventually led to Joe’s death, where afterwards Janie was free to do as she pleases and let her hair down. After the death of a husband, it was usual for the wife to wear black while grieving.