Their Eyes Were Watching God and the Revolution of Black Women

Abstract

It did not pay to be a woman during the Harlem Renaissance. Women’s work was seen as inferior and the women themselves were often under-valued and deemed worthless, meant only to be controlled by the patriarchal society. To be a black woman meant that this societal suffocation and subjugation were doubled, for not only did a black woman have to overcome the inequalities faced by all women, she also had to fight the stereotypes that have been thrust upon her since slavery. Many authors of the Harlem Renaissance, especially Zora Neale Hurston in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, wrote about black women in order to defy stereotypes that were commonly held as truth. Through their writings, these authors explored how the institutions of race and gender interact with each other to create a unique experience for black women of the Harlem Renaissance.