She contemplates her life as an independent woman rather than as her role as a wife, and resists developing another relationship. Her independence is unconventional, and Phoebe tells her so. Unmarried women do not have a place in a traditional southern society. Gender roles are strictly proscribed in Southern society. The way the community perceives Janie is a continual theme in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Social conventions restrict the role of women, preventing them from being self-sufficient and independent. Janie seems unable to find a man who treats her as her equal. Through Janie, Hurston suggests that gender roles are socialized. Janie longs to be free of restrictive gender norms.

Janie eventually falls in love with Tea Cake, which raises issues related to gender and class. The townsfolk disapprove of Janie's relationship with Tea Cake because he is poor and has a low social status. Janie does not mind...
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