Is Janie Truly Independent?

Throughout the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, I found myself drawn to Janie's character. Naturally, I gravitated towards Janie and rooted for her even when it seemed like she wasn't doing quite the right thing, simply because she is the protagonist of the story and as a reader, we usually find ourselves on their side. But, there was something else about her. What it was, I wasn't sure at first, but as the story progressed and we discovered more about Janie's character, I actually found myself being less interested and captivated by Janie. 

Looking back upon it now, I realize what drew me to Janie was her seemingly independent and confident nature which I found to be pretty inspiring. Maybe it's because I'm a female who has grown up in a generation where feminism has become a large influence in society, kindling my love of seeing equality of women and independent females being represented in literature. Maybe it's because as a girl who has heard a multitude of sexist comments throughout her life, I look up to strong females and love seeing them prosper. Or maybe it's just because I grew up as the youngest and only daughter with two older brothers (this just sets you up to get bullied from the day you are born). Whatever the reason, I found myself loving Janie's character because she seemed strong, independent, and capable woman. 

So why was my love for Janie and what she stood for waning? I found myself beginning to question whether Janie was truly independent throughout the book or not. She definitely has had her moments like when she walked out of Logan Killicks's house by her own will or when she stood up to Jody and roasted him so badly that it basically killed him (not exactly but you get the point). On the other hand, was she ever actually as independent as I believed her to be? 

Firstly, she was forced into her marriage with Logan Killicks and stayed pretty obedient to him, with the exception being largely when she walked out of the house and off with Jody. Secondly, during her entire marriage with Jody, she was submissive and followed his rules. Instead of going out to the porch and listening to the men telling stories, she stayed inside the store and worked just because Jody said so. Instead of standing up for herself, for most of her time spent with Jody, she endured his degrading comments about her ability to do things, her appearance, her age, etc., without saying anything in return until the one day where she spoke up. While I do think these few moments do account for something, in the bigger picture, personally I felt like rather than painting Janie as an independent woman, I pictured her as the wife of Jody or the wife of Logan Killicks rather than Janie herself, simply because of the way she presented herself.

This obviously changes with Teacake as Teacake gives Janie more opportunities and allows her freedom but even then, I felt like she was still in a sense, inferior or under Teacake. We can see this especially when Teacake hits Janie, basically just to show her and other people that he still controls her. After Teacake dies, Janie goes back to Eatonville and supposedly finds her independence.

Although the book seems to end on a positive note with Janie finding independence and her identity as a woman, I still feel like Hurston does not fully accomplish making Janie an independent woman. Janie's whole life was basically based around men and it took Teacake dying for her to realize her independence. Even then, Janie basically just retires in her house and thinks about her memories with Teacake which still continues to tie her to men. I think I would feel differently had Janie gone out to live her life and continue to be a carefree, adventurous spirit, but because she becomes this middle-aged woman staying inside her house thinking about her late husband, I felt Janie did not truly find "independence".