The community members in Their Eyes Were Watching God all have positive reactions to Tea cake’s abuse of Janie. Upon learning of the abuse she has gone through, the town is in awe: either jealous that they do not have a man to beat them, or that they do not have a wife who will take a beating. There is no hint of concern for Janie amongst any of the people. Janie’s lack of self-defense is seen as a sign of devotion to Tea cake. Her bruises and marks are seen as symbols of love, and the townspeople even claim to wish for a love as strong as theirs.
This reaction of utter support and acceptance was perplexing to read, and honestly shocking. There was virtually no backlash against Tea cake. He received no consequence for his actions, but instead, he received admiration. Abuse is normalized in their community, and the entire incident was simply brushed off. It was a huge contrast to today’s society where domestic violence is seen as an awful crime. As Mr. Mitchell pointed out, the community may not even know the term “domestic abuse.”
After our discussion in class, I thought a lot about how I felt about this part of the book. Hurston provides no resistance to the concept of normalized domestic abuse, and I thought about the angles mentioned in class such as the cultural/generational differences, or that “it was an act of love.” I have to conclude is that these are not valid arguments, and that abuse is never acceptable in any context. There is always another solution, and if Tea cake really wanted to protect Janie and show his love for her, he would not have hurt her. He could have talked it out, shown public affection for her, there were so many other options. If anything, I stand by the comment Mr. Mitchell made in class: why didn’t Tea cake lash out at the Turners instead?
