New Janie replaced by Joe's Death

This passage relates to the time after Joe Starks dies and shows her initial reaction to the event. A motif that occurs in the passage is hair. Janie’s hair describes her youth and freedom. In the passage, her hair is represented by, “ The weight, the length, the glory was there. She took careful stock of herself, then combed her hair and tied it back up again (pg 87).” Her hair illustrates her beauty, because people take notice her long hair. This is an important idea to society because it shows her wishes versus her dead husband’s wishes. She obeyed her husband and it was clearly a patriarchal relationship and society where the men control the women. This also illustrates juxtaposition. It is odd that the narrator mentioned her letting her hair out and then in the next sentence she put it right back. The significant meaning of this is that she has to act according to society. Her feelings are influenced by society’s ideas and she has to follow them so that the people in Eatonville still respect her. “The young girl was gone, but a handsome woman had taken her place (pg 87).” This quote describes her physical qualities and looks. The young girl was the girl that was naive and believed in loving her husband. She thought she could love anyone, but when she ran away with Jody, she changed but still was young. It describes the sudden change that occurs in her when Joe dies. She no longer looks like a young girl learning things, but is now a woman. She understands the world, and the tone is ironic. It is ironic that she is described as a handsome woman, usually when handsome is to describe a man. It may be suggesting that she has gained power over the relationship and can now take on the jobs that men do by herself. She doesn’t need anyone to help her. This passage signifies a lot of importance of Janie’s new life.