A Feminist Reading of Their Eyes Were Watching God and love. Although this novel can be analyzed from several critical angles, I believe that the perspectives offered by French feminists Hélène Cixous and Luce Irigaray were very helpful in informing my interpretation of Hurston's book. In “The Laugh of the Medusa,” Cixous discusses a phenomenon she calls antilove, which I found useful in defining the social hierarchy of women and the relationships between them in the novel. Additionally, Cixous addresses the idea of woman as caregiver, which can be illustrated through the character Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God. For her part, Luce Irigaray discusses the different modes of sexual desire of men and women in her essay “The sex that is not one”. Many examples supporting and refuting his claims can be found throughout the novel. According to Cixous, the most heinous crime committed by men against women is the promotion of antilove. “Insidiously, violently, they led [women] to hate women, to be their own enemies, to mobilize their immense forces against themselves, to be the executors of their virile needs” (1455). Their Eyes Were Watching God offers numerous examples of women in vicious conflict with one another, usually involving or benefiting a man. Janie is confronted with the nastiness of her neighbors from the very first chapter of the novel, as she returns to Eatonville after her adventure with Tea Cake. “The women took the faded shirt and muddy coveralls and put them aside as souvenirs. It was a weapon against his strength and if I... middle of paper... the 1930s can also apply today, in the context of my personal life and that of the surrounding society. The challenges Janie faces throughout her life are the same ones that every woman, no matter where or when she lives, has faced. In my opinion, it is this universality that makes Their Eyes Were God and the reviews that accompany it so valuable to readers. Works cited Cixous, Hélène. “The laughter of Medusa.” The critical tradition: classic texts and contemporary trends. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998. 1454-1466. Hurston, Zora Neale. Their eyes looked at God. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998. Irigaray, Luce. “This sex that is not one.” The critical tradition: classic texts and contemporary trends. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998. 1467-1471.

Essay / A Feminist Reading of Their Eyes Were Watching God and love. Although this novel can be analyzed from several critical angles, I believe that the perspectives offered by French feminists Hélène Cixous and Luce Irigaray were very helpful in informing my interpretation of Hurston's book. In “The Laugh of the Medusa,” Cixous discusses a phenomenon she calls antilove, which I found useful in defining the social hierarchy of women and the relationships between them in the novel. Additionally, Cixous addresses the idea of woman as caregiver, which can be illustrated through the character Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God. For her part, Luce Irigaray discusses the different modes of sexual desire of men and women in her essay “The sex that is not one”. Many examples supporting and refuting his claims can be found throughout the novel. According to Cixous, the most heinous crime committed by men against women is the promotion of antilove. “Insidiously, violently, they led [women] to hate women, to be their own enemies, to mobilize their immense forces against themselves, to be the executors of their virile needs” (1455). Their Eyes Were Watching God offers numerous examples of women in vicious conflict with one another, usually involving or benefiting a man. Janie is confronted with the nastiness of her neighbors from the very first chapter of the novel, as she returns to Eatonville after her adventure with Tea Cake. “The women took the faded shirt and muddy coveralls and put them aside as souvenirs. It was a weapon against his strength and if I... middle of paper... the 1930s can also apply today, in the context of my personal life and that of the surrounding society. The challenges Janie faces throughout her life are the same ones that every woman, no matter where or when she lives, has faced. In my opinion, it is this universality that makes Their Eyes Were God and the reviews that accompany it so valuable to readers. Works cited Cixous, Hélène. “The laughter of Medusa.” The critical tradition: classic texts and contemporary trends. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998. 1454-1466. Hurston, Zora Neale. Their eyes looked at God. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998. Irigaray, Luce. “This sex that is not one.” The critical tradition: classic texts and contemporary trends. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998. 1467-1471.

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