.
Janie married Logan Killicks to satisfy her grandmother, and had hopes that she would grow to love the ugly man that she didn't particularly care for. Although Nanny insisted that love was not an important factor in their marriage, the absence of love is what essentially drove the marriage apart. Janie waited and waited for the love to grow within their marriage, and grew more and more unhappy when things did not change. Logan desired love from Janie as well, and when he saw that she would not give back the feelings that he gave to her, he decides to instead control and force her to work to his command, forcing her to be submissive. Logan had plans to buy a mule for Janie to use to do backbreaking work in the field, as well as cleaning and cooking. Janie's patience and hopefulness that things would change and improve were shown as she waited an entire year before deciding she was not happy and had to move on. The fact that she waited an entire year was significant due to!.
the fact that Janie was blossomed and raised in nature. Her connection with nature caused her to feel that the proper time to give the marriage would be the length of four seasons, after which she would have to move on if things had not changed. When blooming time, green time, and orange time all passed, she began looking out of the gate for something new to come into her life. The gate is another significant metaphor used in the novel because it represents the beginning and end of segments of Janie's life. The gate was used earlier in the story as Janie's entrance into womanhood, and here it is used as her exit from an unhappy marriage into a hopeful future. .
Janie's hopes of something new coming into her life from outside the gate come true soon when Joe Starks begins meeting with her everyday while Logan was away locating a mule for Janie to work the fields with. Joe provided Janie with the things she lacked and needed in her life: the reminders of her youth and beauty, and similar aspirations for the future.
