Their Eyes Were Watching God: Jealousy

In the historical fiction novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author, Zora Neale Hurston, tells the story of Janie Crawford; a woman growing and maturing while dealing with real-life problems like divorce and racial bias. Janie left her home due to finding her second husband, but his health declined, and she had to come back home alone. The townspeople judged her harshly for her return and spread rumors about her quick arrival. The judgment stems from the unknown. People are quick to judge and doubt people they deem strange. They would rather gossip and spread rumors than talk to that person about why they did what they did. It also comes from a place of jealousy; people want what others have and when they realize they can’t have it they

A world full of hatred and questioning is difficult to live in, and only the strong make it out. During Janie’s first marriage, her husband was the mayor of Eatonville, which caused others to be jealous of their relationship. Although the marriage wasn’t happy and peaceful, the townspeople wanted the power that Janie seemed to have and when they realized they would never get it, they criticized Janie for every mistake she made. When her husband died, Janie mourned publically for months, but she eventually found a new husband whom she moved away with. Her second husband unfortunately died and when she came back to Eatonville, the townspeople were reminded of their old jealousy. They criticized and spread rumors about Janie’s arrival, but they also objectified her and talked about how much they wanted her right after. Janie had been judged her whole life, for being single, for being married, for being a widow, for trying to be happy. At all stages, the ones judging either didn’t know the full story or they envied her life, or both. Janie tried her best to seem like a modest and lovely woman, but she was still met with judgment. She tried going home after her beloved husband died, and she was, yet again, met with judgment. It seemed like no matter what she did, she would always be judged. This fact didn’t break Janie, though; instead, she rose above and didn’t let the harsh comments affect her. This shows Janie’s strength, standing tall