I am incredibly suspicious of Tea Cake. Maybe he’s not that
great of a guy after all. He leaves Janie too often and then gives inadequate
excuses for his absences. And Janie just accepts them! I don’t
care that Tea Cake supposedly did something nice for those railroad workers by
buying them dinner and providing them with entertainment; He still shouldn’t
have taken the money from Janie without her consent or knowledge. Then he came
back with a grin on his face playing the guitar. Are you for real right now,
Tea Cake? You had been gone all day and then you just walk in like nothing happened?
It was also peculiar that Tea Cake said he didn’t want Janie there because he
felt like the people he was with are too “low.” He’s most definitely hiding
something. It also noteworthy that Tea Cake begins gambling and flirting with
another girl. Maybe Tea Cake is just not what he was cracked up to be. This was
to be expected, I suppose, considering we already know she leaves him at the
end.
Janie genuinely loves him, though. That is why she accepts
his shortcomings. He also has the power to make her sincerely happy through his
personality, charm, and playfulness. This is something Jody could never
accomplish. I particularly liked the passage on page 135 where Janie is talking
to Mrs. Turner about Tea Cake. She says, “He kin take most any lil thing and
make summertime out of it when times is dull. Then we lives offa dat happiness
he made till some mo’ happiness come along.” Tea Cake has the ability to make Janie laugh
and make any situation entertaining and humorous. Being with Tea Cake also gives Janie a freedom
she has never known before. She can finally participate in the community life
she had always wished to engage in.
I am anxious to see what
events cause Janie to decide to leave Tea Cake since she is so smitten. Maybe
Tea Cake is only after her money, or maybe he actually loves her. At this
point, I honestly can’t tell.
I don't disagree that Janie may be too trusting. And from a modern standpoint, she is allowing Tea Cake to take advantage of her and use her money with flimsy excuses.
ReplyDeleteSomething to think about, though, is the time period. In the first half of the 20th century, women were more or less subservient to their husbands, regardless of their newly acquired voting rights. Since Tea Cake and Janie were married by this point, the principle of "what's mine is yours" is fairly applied. I think it's really hard to wrap our minds around it as 21st century women who have the freedom to separate ourselves from poor excuses with financial independence.
Food for thought.