One of the things we discussed during the in-class discussion was whether or not Nanny in Their Eyes Were Watching God is a villain. She marries Janie off when she's 16 without really asking for Janie's consent - what's worse is that this man, Logan Killicks, isn't anywhere close to Janie's age. They're married in a hurry, and Janie is basically treated as a maid. Surely Nanny should've thought of a better match for her beloved Janie. On the surface level, one could argue that she is a villain, maybe even as far as to say that Nanny put Janie in a position to be raped by Logan Killicks. However, examining Nanny's upbringing, life experiences, and current situation, maybe we can be a little sympathetic towards her.
Nanny was born as a slave in the South - she's raped by her slave master during the Civil War, and escapes to the woods after giving birth to her child at the brink of the Civil War as Sherman's army approaches. Nanny is free and seeks to give her daughter Leafy a better life. However, this doesn't quite work out as Leafy is raped at the age of 17 by her school teacher, again in the woods, almost repeating the story of Nanny. Janie is born and Leafy runs away, leaving Nanny to raise Janie. Two generations of Janie's family are conceived in the act of rape and considering that Janie herself is an African American growing up in the South, Nanny might fear the same thing happening to Janie.
Nanny's main reason for picking Logan Killicks to be Janie's husband is because he's honest, hard-working, and rich. He owns land, an impressive thing for an African American just a couple of decades after the Civil War. Leafy never knew her father and neither did Janie. They both grew up in single-mother (or grandmother) households. Nanny hopes that Logan will provide Janie with a comfortable home and a stable married life, something she never could have. Maybe Janie's kids will grow up with a father who's there for them, on a farm with stable income, in a two parent home.
We see the world through Janie's eyes - after all, she's the one telling the story, not Nanny. This is why there's a conflict in the way Janie sees the world and the way Nanny sees the world. I remember someone in class saying that Janie sees the world through rose-colored glasses and I definitely agree - she seeks eternal love in which both her and her partner resemble a relationship similar to those found in nature. She won't have to force herself to love whoever she marries - everything will just fall into place naturally. However, Nanny sees the world through her years of experience. She knows the harsh reality of being a black woman in the South and she has Janie's best interests in mind. As an older woman, I can see how she would dismiss Janie's wants as ignorant youthful desires. She sees the match with Logan as a blessing for Janie - certainly, she couldn't have imagined a match like that for herself. So while we can call Nanny a villain who has no sort of respect for Janie's feelings and desires, we have to remember that we are seeing the story unfold not only through Janie's eyes but through our upbringings as well. We're raised in the twenty-first century and no matter how hard we try, it will be impossible to fully understand Nanny's perspective, considering her circumstances were so harsh. So is Nanny really a villain?
Hey Janaki! I really like your topic for this post. Nanny is an interesting character to discuss, because while she forced Janie into an unhappy marriage, she did it for what she believed to be Janie's own well being and happiness. Of course, if we think about Nanny forcing 16 year old Janie to marry a much older man in current times, she does seem like a villain. However, Nanny made this decision after she herself had endured a lifetime with no stability or prospects. As an enslaved person, Nanny and her daughter had to go through incredibly traumatic events, and her only wish for Janie was that she would not have to endure the same. So, can we really blame Nanny for doing what she thinks will keep Janie safe? Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think you’re analysis of Nanny is a careful and insightful one. It’s hard to make up our minds about her when we see the pain she causes Janie, while also understanding that she has valid reasons for her beliefs. I think that we can feel empathy for Nanny and work to understand her, but also acknowledge that she’s not always right and can have her own flaws. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHi Janaki, I think you chose a really interesting topic to write your post about! I feel like there is definitely a struggle among readers on how to view Nanny, so I like that you point out that there are a lot of different ways to view the situation. I especially like the example of Janie seeing through rose colored glasses. I feel like you can recognize that although many of Nanny's actions could be considered villainous, none are just pure evil, as there are many factors to consider.
ReplyDeleteI thought your analysis of Nanny was insightful and produces a lot of great discussion topics. Nanny seems to take a much more realist view of love and your characterization of her fits with Nanny's idea of having "love come after marriage." Although she seems to be pretty villainous, her actions stem from her desire to give Janie the best life she can have. In her eyes, Janie has a wonderful opportunity to be set for life and thus, she can't understand why Janie would not want such a thing. You described this sort of conflict between Nanny and Janie especially well. Overall, great post!
ReplyDeleteHiya Janaki! I think as any parent figure, Nanny simply wants Janie to live a life untouched by the pain and fear that she herself had to go through. Nanny never had the security that would've come with marriage, and even had to watch her own child go through the terrible suffering that came with being alone. For her, living a life in safety if not happiness is much better than living a life of trauma and tragedy. As Nanny herself says, she loves Janie even more than she did her own daughter and so the desire to protect her is that much stronger. So while her decisions weren't the best for Janie, we can see where Nanny is coming from. Amazing post!!
ReplyDeleteHello Janaki, this is a fabulous post! I really liked how you chose to write about Nanny, as I feel she is a character we didn't get to analyze in depth as much as some of the others. You did a great job of explaining how Nanny's decisions come from her own experiences as a child and how although she may seem to be restrictive and possessive of Janie, all she wants is the best for her, because she understand how difficult love and relationships can be. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteHi Janaki, this was a very well written blog post that was very enjoyable to read! I agree that Nanny is not a villain in this story, but rather the world that she must conform both herself and Janie to is. Nanny explains in the novel that she didn't want a life for her daughter that she had, yet history appears to repeat itself, as you had mentioned. I think Nanny feels residual guilt after Leafy has grown and left her and Janie, and she is holding herself accountable to try to get it right once. I think that for many of us reading this book, it can be easy for us to paint Nanny as a villain, as we are, to some extent, looking at life through the same rose-colored glasses that Janie is. Our youthful, blissful ignorance clouds our sight, the same way that the dust at the pear tree clouds Janie's. A large part of parental life and guardianship is protecting the youth in front of us from the same pain that we have experienced.
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