Once Janie flees her
first relationship with Killicks, she marries Starks—a man who was supposedly
one of a kind. After moving to an all colored town, Starks begins to overprotect
Janie in that he would not allow her to be herself around the people of town. Women
were typically under the control of men in the 1900’s since the man controlled
the land and financial facets while the women maintained the home.
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Starks forces Janie to wear a head-rag
to conceal her beautiful and tempting hair. It was believed that other men in
town would be attracted to Janie due to her hair. In doing this, Janie is
masking her identity and being deprived of her femininity. As the novel progresses,
death lurks upon Jody Starks and inevitably removes him from Janie’s life.
Finally free from the pressure of Starks, Janie removes her head-rag and
exposes her true beautiful self to the world. “She tore off the kerchief from
her head and let down her plentiful hair” (Hurston 87). No longer having to
wear the dehumanizing masks, Janie burns them proving her power as a woman. “Before
she slept that night she burnt up every one of her head rags…” (Hurston 89).
Janie’s actions greatly resemble
the women’s rights movement in the 1960’s in which women burned their bras. Women
did not want to solely be seen as housewives or mothers; they wanted to be
independent from men and have a say in major decisions. Not all women literally
burned their bras, but they refused to wear them as a symbol of their
independence. This is similar to Janie’s situation since she burns all her
head-rags to represent her independence from Starks.
The
picture above depicts a women’s liberation parade in which they were calling
for equality among men and women. Instead of women being seen as the caregiver
and housewife, they desired to be independent from the men who ‘run’ the home.
Janie burning her head rag and women of the '60s burning their bras is a enlightening movement in both reality and literature. As it shows women standing up for their rights and not allowing "the man" to control who they are. Like the bra movement, The Free the Nipple Campaign (started in December 2013) advocates for the removal of the double standard of topless-ness across the globe.
ReplyDeleteYou provide an excellent connection between both Janie and the women of the 60's! They connect in a sense that they're both fighting for what they believe is right and they won’t let any man stand in the way of their beliefs. No man should have the power to control any woman’s life. Janie has the right to express how she truly feels whether or not the society accepts it or not. Connecting Janie’s burning of her head rags to these women burning their bras was an excellent reference that enhances the idea of women fighting for their position in society.
ReplyDeleteJanie burning her head rags after Jody's death serves as foreshadowing to the later 1960's bra burning movement you mentioned. Although the story itself is historical fiction, burning head rags and other oppressive clothing could have been done similarly by other women during the '30s. When Janie burned her head rags, Hurston potentially was alluding to the fact that feminism didn't just die in the '20s, and instead was silently evolving by the time Janie peformed such actions in her era.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing us. rags
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