Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God: Marriage in Zora Neale Hurston's 'Their Eyes Were Watching God'

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, marriage is a central topic. The main character of the book, Janie, is married three times. Her husbands are very different from one another which is also reflected in the relationship between her and her husbands in each marriage. Nevertheless, all three marriages show certain similarities which correspond to common gender roles of this time. The following essay thus will explore and analyze these marriages. Afterwards it will compare them with regard to three common gender roles of that time, and it will show that all three marriages are more or less built upon these common gender-specific ideas.