Clementine Pitrat – 8010
Compare how Andrea Levy’s ‘Small Island’ and Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’
present the role of the female, considering the contexts of their production and reception and the different
ways in which these texts have been read.
‘Small Island’ and ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ present the multifaceted roles of the female in
society, exploring the transformative journey from being treated as tools to regaining lost identities, navigating
journeys marked by suffering, and the pursuit of self-discovery. Janie and Hortense embody the struggles
against stereotypical patriarchal views, offering an exploration of how women strive to be true to themselves in
an inherently sexist and patriarchal society.
Levy and Hurston depict two contrasting female experiences surrounding relationships and men, with
Hortense we see a subversion of the patriarchal world, whereas Janie is reduced to a tool in a relationship
tinged with dubious undertones. In an article, John Mullan says that the marriage between Hortense and
Gilbert had ‘been arranged only to secure Hortense’s passage to England’ 1, where we can clearly see that the
marriage is not meant to hold love, it is a transactional agreement rooted in mutual benefit, transforming
Gilbert into a tool. When entering the marriage agreement, they have known each other for ‘five days’ 2 hardly
enough time to know each other, yet Hortense is driven by her intelligence and determination to leave Jamaica
and will not let herself succumb to a patriarchally driven world. Hortense approaches the situation as a
businesswoman, arguing her terms, and establishing their agreement by shaking hands ‘like a business deal
had been struck’3, portraying Hortense with a resilience to challenge the societal norms of Jamaica, and how
she was willing to do what it took to leave. Her disappointed reaction of ‘just this?’ 4 upon her arrival to England
is the first moment where we see Hortense start to have her ideals broken down, where she is forced to
change her views and beliefs to survive in Gilbert’s world. Hortense rejects Gilbert’s sexual advances on their
wedding night, screaming ‘do not come near me with that thing’ 5 when he was naked, furthering the idea that
1
Mullan, J. (2011) Small island by Andrea Levy, The Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jan/08/small-island-andrea-levy-bookclub (Accessed: 05
September 2023)
2
Levy, A. (2017) ‘Chapter Seven’, in Small island. London: Tinder press, p. 98.
3
Levy, A. (2017) ‘Chapter Seven’, in Small island. London: Tinder press, p. 100.
4
Levy, A. (2017) ‘Chapter One’, in Small island. London: Tinder press, p. 21.
5
Levy, A. (2017) ‘Chapter Seven’, in Small island. London: Tinder press, p. 105.
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, Clementine Pitrat – 8010
she did not want a relationship filled with love, she only wanted a way to leave her past life. Whilst Gilbert is
not a hero, he doesn’t purposefully treat her badly, nor does he want her beaten down by the racist and sexist
ideals of England, saying ‘no wife of mine will be on her knees in this country’ 6. Whilst he said this when
Hortense was literally on her knees cleaning, Gilbert’s view of Hortense stays like this throughout the novel.
Gilbert does not want to see Hortense turned into a tool and beaten down by the racism and patriarchal
society in ‘Small Island’, but rather a strong woman who knows her value and will stand her ground. Similarly,
in ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’, Janie enters a second marriage with a man who ‘spoke for change and
chance’7, yet he swiftly treats her as a tool and object to use, rather than cherishing and loving her. Zadie Smith
said that for Janie, each relationship is ‘the choice between values, possibilities, futures, hopes, arguments’ 8
reflecting the choices women must make since they are not granted to have a relationship with all that they
desire. Having learned through a previous marriage, Janie begins to understand the harsh realities of marriage
– a man’s promises do not necessarily translate to action. This understanding intensifies her awareness of how
gender roles dictate her existence in a male dominated society. We see this when Joe pushes to control Janie’s
life, ‘her hair was NOT going to show in the store’9, his desire to control her body and life stem from his
jealousy surrounding how other men looked at her, she wasn’t asking for it, yet he sees it as disrespectful
towards himself. Rather than acting in a way that would have men leave her alone, he pushes his sexist views
onto her and takes away her sense identity and freedom. During her marriage to her first husband Logan, he
states ‘you ain’t got no particular place. It’s wherever Ah need yuh to be’ 10, indicating his yearning to control
her and her self-worth. He desires to diminish her sense of identity; she is there to do as he asks, and no more
than that. Logan transforms Janie into a tool, her value being placed on her compliance and silence. Janie
yearns for a relationship where she is loved and regarded as an equal, a desire left unfulfilled by her first
marriage, especially in contrast to her idealization of love when she was younger. The relationship between
6
Levy, A. (2017) ‘Chapter 30’, in Small island. London: Tinder Press, p. 319.
7
Hurston, Z.N. (2018) ‘Chapter 4’, in Their eyes were watching god. Virago Press, p. 34.
8
Smith, Z. (2018) ‘Introduction by Zadie Smith’, in Their eyes were watching god. London: Virago press,
p. X.
9
Hurston, Z.N. (2018) ‘Chapter 6’, in Their eyes were watching god. Virago Press, p. 62
10
Hurston, Z.N. (2018) ‘Chapter 4’, in Their eyes were watching god. Virago Press, p. 36.
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