Hurston’s Feminism: A Case Study Of Janie In Their Eyes Were Watching God

The conventional descriptions of African American women in American novels arealways tragic. Some of the stereotypes are tragic mulattos, invisible and voiceless.Different from the stereotypes, Hurston, in Their Eyes were Watching God, created apositive image of mulatto--Janie, who seeks for and fulfills herself through her ownefforts. For this, the novel is praised as the first feminist African American book.In the1920s and1930s, there were wide spread racial discrimination and sexualoppression in American society. African American women were in a dilemma, sufferingdouble oppressions from both white and men. In such a society, Hurston struggled allher life for self-fulfillment, establishing herself as a feminist. Without doubt herfeminism is closely related to her family, education and the society.A typical representation of Hurston’s feminism is Janie in Their Eyes wereWatching God. Like most African American women, Janie is in a dilemma. However,she does not accept the arrangements of fate. Instead, she displays a strong feministconsciousness, which can be seen in three aspects: marriage, discourse power andattitudes towards work, in all of which her progress is obvious.Janie’s feminist consciousness is of great significance in the start-up period offeminism, but it has its own limitations due to the restrictions of the time and society,which can be found in marriage, economy, discourse power and social life.