Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God chronicles Janie Mae Crawford's quest for independence and search for her own voice. When Janie first meets the suave Joe Starks, she is swept off her feet by his ambition and promises of fulfilling her dreams. Janie, however, soon realizes that Joe is dictatorial, egocentric and otherwise uninterested in her as a person. To all the citizens of Eatonville, Joe is a powerful "whirlwind among breezes- (49). Joe, however, uses this fazade to cover his deeply rooted insecurities. He relies on his power, conquest and material possessions as means of validation and fulfillment. He, therefore, attempts to control everyone and everything around him, including Janie.
Joe marries Janie not because he loves or values her, but because he believes that .
her beauty and elegance make for the epitome of a mayor's wife. To Joe, Janie is an object, a trophy wife. The vocalization of her opinions or feelings is unnecessary and even intimidating. At the opening of Eatonville's general store, the townspeople ask Janie to give a speech. Joe, however, interjects with, " Mah wife don't know nothin' bout no speech makin'. Ah never married her for nothing lak dat- (43). Joe often prohibits Janie, a "born orator- (58) from speaking because he is intimidated by her confidence and strong sense of self. He cares too much about others' opinion of him to let someone else seem more intelligent or powerful. .
As Joe grows older and his physical appearance changes, his insecurities grow more evident. To turn attention away from his deteriorated condition, Joe often berates Janie, "as if he [doesn't] want her to stay young while he [grows] old- (77). One night at .
the store after more ridicule from Joe, Janie fights back saying, " Talkin' bout me lookin' old! When you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh life- (79). Janie commits the unthinkable in humiliating Joe before those he needs to feel superiority over.