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Their Eyes Were Watching 19th Century Novel

I've said it once and I'll say it again.

Their Eyes Were Watching God seems to me like an archetypal 19th Century British novel. Something about how the prose is structured and the events played out seemed exactly like the events we would read about in 19th Century. There are multiple suitors and each one the main character sees something in them but then they end up not liking a few of them until they meet the one they decide is right for them. Then they get into some trouble with this "perfect" suitor and this problem carries the rest of the plot. The arranged marriage also is very reminiscent of the stifling atmosphere of 19th century novels. Towards the end of the book it becomes a more modern piece (because it starts with a marriage and ends with no partner as opposed to the reverse in 19th century novels), as well as having a more progressive feminist message. Still, some deep dark part of me has a traumatic fit whenever I think of Pride and Prejudice.

Comments

  1. Ethan AshbrookNovember 4, 2018 at 9:35 AM

    This is speaking from a person who didn't take 19th Century Novels, but I can definitely see where you're coming from. If you take a more societal perspective of Janie's life, what she is expected to do feels very constricted. And most of what she does end up doing is partly because her husband(s) allowed her to do it. Like with Jodie, she's just expected to sit in the store, look pretty, and do nothing else, which feels very Victorian and 19th-century-England. You can definitely draw some connections between the two, which is weird, but also pretty cool.

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  2. SamirNovember 11, 2018 at 10:24 PM

    I did not take 19th Century Novels, but this is a cool post! The dynamics you are pointing out between the male and female characters, and the way that the plot develops seem reminiscent of what was expected of women at the time. Janie is expected to be the quiet and submissive housewife, who lives to please her husband. She also ends up in an arranged marriage right at the beginning of the book. I can definitely see how it would fit into a 19th century novel, cool post!

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  3. Aidan GarrettNovember 16, 2018 at 11:18 AM

    Great post! Even though I wasn't in 19th Century Novels the way you explain this makes sense. And I think it is similar to what we were talking about in class in regards to Wright's criticism of the novel. She wasn't trying to write a protest novel but a love story with African-American characters.

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