VOICING THE SILENCED SELF: A FEMINIST READING OF THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD

Abstract

This study offers a feminist reading of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, focusing on the
chief issue of female silence and the gradual emergence of voice in the protagonist, Janie Crawford. The main
objective is to examine how patriarchal structures suppress Janie’s identity and how language, experience, and
narrative form contribute to her self-articulation. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology based on
textual analysis (close reading) and is grounded in feminist literary theory and Black feminist thought, drawing
on Simone de Beauvoir, Elaine Showalter, and bell hooks. Findings reveal that Janie’s silence is socially
constructed through patriarchal relations, while her evolving voice reflects resistance, agency, and identity
formation. The novelty of the study lies in linking narrative structure and language with feminist concepts of voice,
showing voice as a dynamic process of empowerment.