In order to support such a statement, we would need to
examine the motives of the various characters who do hurt Janie: her grandmother, Logan
Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake. In all four of these cases, no one wants to
explicitly hurt Janie but the pain is caused because these individual are unwilling or
unable to acknowledge Janie's own identity and "voice" as an authority over her own
life.
Janie's grandmother is concerned only with Janie's
safety and security. As she tells Janie, "it's not love Ah wants yuh to have, it's
protection." As a former slave, Janie's grandmother wants her to enjoy the freedoms that
she never had for herself. Unfortunately, Granny never stops to consider that Janie
might have even loftier goals for herself.
Like Granny,
Logan Killicks isn't interested in seeing Janie become a self-actualized individual; he
wants someone to help him with the responsibilities of the farm. He isn't interested in
Janie as a person, only as a farm hand.
Joe Starks shows
some interest in Janie as a person but only because she is a reflection upon him. The
better her social standing in the town of Eatonville, the better he looks himself.
Ultimately, however, Joe Starks sees Janie as another of his possessions and another of
his accomplishments. In his mind, she is nothing without
him.
And finally, Tea Cake--when stricken with rabies--is
unable to recognize Janie as the woman whom he fell in love with. The pain and
intimidation he causes, however, is not done so willingly on his part; it is the effects
of the disease on his brain causing his behavior.
In all of
these cases, these individuals believe they are acting in Janie's own best interests.
They do not mean to hurt Janie but each is convinced in one way or another that his or
her actions is more important than what Janie wants for herself. The message of the
novel, then, is the lesson Janie teachers us in standing up for our own dreams and not
shying away from making our own voices heard.
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