The Portrayal Of Men In Female Authored

Texts By Maxine Hong Kingston, And Zora Neale Hurston Essay, Research Paper

The novels, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston are two works by female authors which celebrate the individuality and strength of women. In both cases, the characters portrayed in the novels are stark contrasts to both the typical females and males depicted in both early and contemporary works by many male authors. In the two pieces of literature, women struggle to remain firm in their notions of self-worth, and can become independent if the need or opportunity arises. What makes this inner-strength so amazing is that the women in the novels are living in societies which characterize their entire sex as merely superfluous components-a notion that is compounded by the beliefs of their respective African American and Chinese ethnic communities. However, just as female characters in books written by male authors are usually examples of inhibiting and destructive forces to the independent, yet responsible male, in these two books written by female authors, the men are conversely portrayed as the constraining, if not ruinous forces for the female.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God three men try to constrain and eventually destroy Janie through both their actions and the imposition of their sexist, yet socially-accepted views. However, Hurston’s unique portrayal of this independent black woman will not allow her to succumb to their prohibitive pressure. Janie’s first husband, Logan is the typically idealized mate of most male-, and even some female-created literature. He is the supporter of the family and with him Janie will want for nothing, including a life of her own. Logan expects a wife who will love, honor, and obey. Without fully knowing her or what she can offer, he expects her to appreciate him for fulfilling what he saw as his duty “tuh work and feed yah” (29). While this oft excepted notion of a ‘good man’-and a woman whose only “place” is “wherever Ah need yuh” (30)-is characteristic of male-written literature, it has quite a different twist in Hurston’s book. Instead of Janie giving in to his suppressive ideals, she quite easily leaves him for another whom she believes to be less constrictive and more willing to try new things, and possesses what she believes is a new perspective. Perhaps the most shocking contrast of Hurston’s portrayal of the once typical and idealized provider-husband to that of other writers is Logan’s apparent lack of strength. While Logan’s character, if written by a male, might have said and done the same things as Hurtson’s Logan, his fear of losing Janie, symbolized in his half-sob/half-cry condemnation of her (30) shows that all of the relationship’s power did not lie with him, as male writers might have us believe. Instead, much like Thomas Hardy’s Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge believed that he could do much better without the hindrance of a wife and child, so did Hurston’s Janie believe that she could do better without her ‘perfect’ husband to constrain her. In both cases, one with a male protagonist written by a male, and the other with a female protagonist and female writer, the main character proved to be correct in their assumption.

Janie’s second husband Jody turned out to be unexpectedly much like the first, but even more suppressive in some ways. While Logan primarily wanted Janie to pledge to him her undying gratitude for his proposal, Jody expected Janie’s appreciation in addition to her conformity to a status quo that was set by Jody himself. As mayor of the town in which they resided, Jody required that his wife maintain a certain superiority and detachment from the general residency. This edict, combined with certain standards for her daily appearance, sufficiently alienated Janie from the general public, and attempted to further stifle her as an individual. Although Janie herself believed that her years with Jody had caused all the fight to be “gone from her soul” (72) once he was gone, her own personality and desires quickly resurfaced. Jody, just like Logan, was the traditional ‘good man’. He saw that Janie was taken care of, and even took away her need to express herself in daily interactions by prescribing her required actions. He allowed Janie to live the perfect life her grandmother had envisioned for her-to get “up on uh high chair and sit dere” (109). This was the life that society believes most women only dream about. This superficial goal mirrors Charles Perrault and his Sleeping Beauty who wishes one day for her prince to come. While this notion that a man is necessary to complete a woman, Hurston, portrays Jody, just like Logan to be a constraining influence on Janie. The extent of her freedom and happiness after Jody is no longer able to control her, is evident through her actions immediately following his death. She took down her hair, and gazed at the woman she had become-finally free of male influences in her life to dictate her actions and her desires. Once again, this man that would traditionally be a symbol of strength and success was brought down by Hurtson’s portrayal of his moments of weakness. Because Janie absorbed all of Jody’s mental and physical blows and went on with her life while Jody’s health declined after Janie’s one attack on his manhood, Hurston successfully paints Janie as the stronger person. Through Janie’s first two husbands, the contra