The progression of value systems, especially concerning genders, and this progression’s effect on American society and identity are very visible both when reading Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” and while watching Part III of Ken Burn’s country music documentary. While the two cover completely separate time frames, certain parallels are worth exploring. For instance, in Chapter IV of Hurston’s book, the marriage between Janie and Logan approaches a bumpy crossroads. Logan no longer feels the need to impress or “spoil” Janie, and she takes notice of this drop off in affection, stating that, for instance, he had “ceased to wonder at her long black hair and finger it,” instead demanding manual labor of her (Hurston 26). Thinking back to the origins of their relationship, it is clear that their marriage was one that was all but pre-arranged, with Nanny only considering security, rather than true love, as the defining motive of marrying the older man in Logan. Initially, Janie felt forced into this choice; and Nanny’s reasoning was far from unwarranted, given the way that she was brought up.
Not only does this sound like an occurrence that could be addressed in any number of country songs, it draws a parallel to Kitty Wells’ attitude, when she made her response song to Hank Thompson’s “The Wild Side of Life” and “stood up to have her say” (Burns 1:36:20). Her song, titled “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” struck a chord with women of the time, asserting that men too could carry the blame for marital issues. Before then, contributors of Burns’ documentary suggested, women were singing what men wanted to hear, so this was a groundbreaking occurrence, reflecting a documented shift in values. Just as the values shifted across two generations between Nanny and Janie, so too did the values change from prior to World War II to the Post War era. I speculate that this shift was, among other things, a result of women entering the workforce, especially during the vast male absence forced by entry into the second World War. Much in the same way, Janie too had her say. Whether you believe it right or wrong that she, towards the chapter’s end, ran off with Jody Starks, the point remains consistent — dissatisfied with her marriage, she decided to make the decision to leave on her own accord, rather than simply submit to her then-husband’s will. This reflects a sort of independence that Nanny, raised in the setting of poverty and slavery, likely could not have experienced.
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