Chapter 6

Janie continues to work at Jody’s store daily and finds the work monotonous and unchallenging. She enjoys the conversations people have at the porch of the store, even though she is not directly involved in the conversations. She overhears them making fun of Matt Bonner, a resident of Eatonville, for how tired and sad his mule looks. They blame him for being a careless and bad mule owner. One day, the people get carried away by their teasing and try to channel their aggressive energy directly toward the mule, which bothers Janie. She decides to voice her opinion by challenging their actions. To assuage Janie’s concerns about the mule, Jody buys the mule for a very small sum from Matt. The people, however, only see Jody’s involvement in the event; they forget that it was Janie’s concern that led to Jody’s intervention in the first place. The mule’s rescue is credited to Jody, and Janie’s contributions are forgotten. When the mule dies, Jody arranges a very widely attended funeral; the townsfolk see the mule as both a victim and a symbol of kindness. He, however, stops Janie from attending the funeral; he argues that it is not befitting of a woman of her stature to attend such a lowly event.

A day following the funeral, Janie breaks her silence and calls out Jody for his controlling behavior. In response, Jody berates her and does not apologize or address her concerns. Janie is displeased, but she also resolves not to broach the matter with him again.

On the porch at the store, Sam Watson and the group discuss the matter of nature versus nurture. They talk about whether humans stay away from hot stoves because they are inherently aware of its danger, or because they have been told and conditioned to stay away from hot stoves. Jody and Janie participate in this lively conversation and start to enjoy it tremendously until Jody asks Janie to go indoors to attend to a customer at the store. Jody’s controlling behavior continues to grow and eventually humiliates her publicly for being bad at working at the store. Once, during dinner, he even physically assaults her. At the same time, Janie begins to lose sexual interest in Jody and realizes that she is starting to long for something new. She does not let any of this show outwardly. She thus finds herself in a marriage without love or passion once again.

An old lady named Mrs. Robbins stops by the store and asks Janie for some meat. The lady tells her that her husband neglects to feed both her and her children. Janie, moved by Mrs. Robbins’ situation, brings her the meat. The men gathered at the porch watch Mrs. Robbins and make fun of her. They call her strange and state that they would never let their wives behave this way. Janie intervenes and tells them off by saying that despite their overconfidence, it is highly likely that none of them know anything about women.

Chapter 7

As Jody’s controlling ways continue to grow, Janie begins to adopt a stoic approach to life. She deals with his immense need for power by dissociating from her emotions. As Jody ages and becomes dependent on others to even walk, he becomes more cruel toward Janie. He calls her an “old hen,” but this doesn’t hurt Janie, who is now hardened. She also recognizes that his anger and abuse stem from his insecurity and old age.

Jody, however, is increasingly cruel toward Janie. One day, when Janie makes a mistake while packing tobacco for a customer, Jody berates her not only for being a bad worker at the store but also for being ugly and old. Having had enough, Janie retorts to Jody by saying that his big voice is all he has left for himself. Rebuked, Jody beats Janie with all his strength in front of everyone at the store.

Chapter 8

Jody puts on a grand show of rejecting Janie: he sleeps at a nearby hotel and ignores her even while they are working together at the store. He refuses to eat any food cooked by Janie. Pheoby Watson informs Janie that the people around town believe that Janie has been attempting to poison Jody. Janie is shocked and states that such a horrible thought has never crossed her mind. She swears her loyalty to her husband even though their marriage is deeply troubled.

Janie brings a doctor from Orlando to assess Jody’s deteriorating health even though their relationship is strained. After evaluating Jody, the doctor informs Janie that Jody only has a few more days to live. Janie thus tries to get closer to her husband. However, Jody is adamant and repeats that Janie has been an an ungrateful person. Unable and unwilling to keep her silence anymore, Janie states that Jody has been a controlling man who always stopped her from expressing herself. In this fit of passionate outrage, Janie informs Jody that he is on his deathbed. Jody first considers it a mere insult, but soon accepts his fate.

Jody passes away shortly after this argument. Janie is left to process her mixed feelings, including anger, rage, mourning, and sympathy. Looking at the mirror, she takes off the rag with which she had covered her hair, and she experiences freedom for the first time in a long while. However, she is cognizant of what the townspeople would think if she were to express her newfound freedom and therefore puts her head rag back on and announces from her window that she is now a widow. She decides that it is important to play the role of a grieving widow for a while.

Chapter 9

At Jody’s funeral, Janie shows her grief to assuage the townspeople and convince them that she was indeed a good wife. However, having burnt all her head rags and with her hair down well below her waist, Janie feels extremely liberated. In this state of independence, Janie begins reflecting on her origins, especially her relationship with her Nanny. She realizes that she harbors anger toward Nanny for her beliefs and for being forced to follow them. Janie realizes that Nanny didn’t believe she or Janie could amount to much in the world. She realizes that her anger stems from Nanny’s decision to restrict Janie from exploring her possibilities. She is angry that Nanny had merely taught her that stability could only be achieved through a man and the financial assistance provided by him.

She notices the sharp contrast between her own happiness and Nanny’s belief that to be a single woman is a pitiable thing. Janie is so aware of her overwhelming happiness that she begins wearing white to symbolize her independence and availability six months after Jody’s death. She tells Pheoby that she no longer cares what the townspeople are thinking because she feels liberated and does not want to hide it.

Chapter 10

Hezekiah Potts, Janie’s help at the store, wants to leave the store early one day to watch a ball game. Janie assures him that she can close the store herself. It is an ordinary day till a tall, handsome man walks into the store to buy a pack of cigarettes. They flirt tentatively and the man invites Janie to a game of checkers. At the game, they continue to flirt and enjoy each other’s company, so they decide to play one more game of checkers. Janie playfully tells him that he can teach her, but not cheat her.

Janie asks the man his name. He tells her that his name is Vergible Woods, but everyone calls him Tea Cake. Janie believes that it must be because of his sweet nature. They continue to flirt and talk even as customers return from the ball game. Indeed, they continue to talk even until everybody leaves the store for their homes at night. Tea Cake bids her goodnight and on her walk back home, Janie wonders if it might be safe to walk back home alone. She also wonders if Tea Cake is a trustworthy man. However, she is reassured by the ease with which they could converse. She watches the moon as it rises in the sky after reaching home.

Analysis of Chapter 6-Chapter 10

Janie’s relationship with Jody is complex; it began as a result of her desire to be liberated from Logan’s unloving and imposing nature. However, Jody also ends up being extremely controlling. Janie is allowed no form of self-expression with Jody.

The people at the store’s porch decide to attack Matt Bonner’s mule even though they are aware of its despicable condition; this is an instance of cruel irony where the people decide to hurt an animal that is already in a deeply vulnerable position. Another instance of irony occurs when Mrs. Robbins visits Janie’s store. The men on the porch pompously state that they would never let their wives beg and plead like Mrs. Robbins. As Janie points out in this situation, Mrs. Robbins is forced to rely on the kindness of strangers because Mr. Robbins had refused to provide for his family. It is not Mrs. Robbins’ lack of character, but the incompetence of her “husband” that has forced her into this situation. The men’s lack of insight and compassion also highlights the gender roles prevalent at the time Hurston wrote the novel. Janie, under Jody’s control, is able to relate both to the mule and to Mrs. Robbins’ plight.

When Janie shares her own thoughts during the discussion about nature and nurture, she realizes her need to be seen as an intelligent human with her own voice. She realizes that she is not only capable of being a “working body” but also a “thinking mind.” Jody’s orders asking her to return indoors is not only reflective of his unceasing need to control Janie but also his insecure nature, which is also the reason behind him asking Janie to tie her beautiful hair in a cloth.

With the knowledge that she has a voice and the realization that Jody would never apologize for his actions, she decides to remain stoic in order to survive. However, her stoic nature breaks when Jody grows old and insecure and begins to publicly humiliate Janie. When Janie responds, Jody is shocked, and despite his physical deterioration, hits her in front of everyone at the store. This is a desperate attempt on Jody’s part to regain his power over Janie. To this end, he also sleeps in a hotel and refuses to eat the food prepared by her.

When Janie finds out about Jody’s deteriorating health, she is able to recognize that she feels only pity for him and tries to soothe him in his last days. Jody, however, does not react positively even to this, and Janie lets loose and tells him what she really thinks about him. She truthfully lets Jody know that he has been a tyrant to her and that she feels no love or compassion for him. In her anger, she lets him know that he is going to die soon.

Janie’s decision to remove the cloth from her hair is an important and poignant act of self-expression, something she was not afforded for years. However, she is also aware of the gossip that might emerge if she were to remove the rag too soon. Therefore, she keeps the headgear on to play the part of a grieving wife.

Through her marriages, Janie understands important truths about conjugality, femininity, and sexuality. She finds herself disagreeing with Nanny’s worldview and her notion of what it means to be a woman. She is angry at Nanny for not telling her that she could yearn for independence. She is deeply disappointed that she was taught that being with a man was the only way to be stable and secure as a woman. In both her marriages, Janie was financially secure, but restrained by the controlling men. It is only after Jody’s death that she is able to express herself and even introspect.

The attraction between Tea Cake and Janie is immediate and mutual. Though they are strangers, Janie feels as though she and Tea Cake had known each other for a very long time. Toward the end of the chapter, Hurston uses the image of the rising moon, much like the image of the peach trees, to indicate Janie’s sexual awakening.