Novel Synopsis

by: Lauren Tembreull

The main character, an African American woman in her early forties named Janie Crawford, tells the story of her life and journey to her best friend Phoeby through an extended flashback. Her life has three major periods corresponding to her marriages to three very different men.

Nanny, Janie's grandmother, was a slave who became pregnant by her owner and gave birth to a daughter, Leafy. Though Nanny tries to create a good life for her daughter, Leafy is raped by her school teacher and she becomes pregnant with Janie. Shortly after Janie's birth, Leafy begins to drink and stay out at night. Eventually, she runs away leaving Janie with Nanny. Nanny transfers all the hopes she had for Leafy to Janie. When Janie is sixteen, Nanny sees her kissing a neighborhood boy, Johnny Taylor, and fears that Janie will become a "mule" to some man. Nanny arranges for Janie to marry Logan Killicks, an older man and farmer who is looking for a wife to keep his home and help on the farm, even though Janie does not want to marry at that time. Janie once saw bees pollinating a pear tree; she got the idea that marriage must involve love. Logan Killicks, however, wants a domestic helper rather than a lover or partner, and after he tries to force her to help him with the hard labor of the farm, Janie runs off with Jody (Joe) Starks, who takes her to Eatonville.

Jody and Janie arrive in Eatonville to find the residents with no sort of ambition, so he arranges to buy more land from the neighboring landowner, hires some local residents to build a general store for him to own and run, and the people of the town appoint him mayor. Janie soon realizes that Joe wants her as a trophy wife. He wants the image of his perfect wife to reinforce his powerful position in town, as he asks her to run the store but forbids her from participating in the social life that occurs on the store's front porch. Janie soon takes this to heart, and starts to fall out of love with Jody. Jody then became very ill and died, leaving Janie alone once again.

After Jody passes away, Janie finds herself financially independent and overwhelmed with suitors. A certain young man named Vergible Woods who goes by the name of Tea Cake catches her eye. Janie instantly falls in love with Tea Cake after he plays the harmonica for her. She sells the store in Eatonville and the two head to Jacksonville to get married. While their relationship has its ups and downs Janie now has the marriage with love that she had wanted.

While Janie and Tea are living in the Everglades the area is destructed by a hurricane. Tea Cake and Janie survive the storm but, Tea Cake is bitten by a rabid dog while saving Janie from drowning. He contracts a terrible disease. The disease causes him to try to shoot Janie with a pistol. Defending herself, Janie shoots him with a rifle and kills Tea Cake. She is charged with the murder of her dear husband, Tea Cake. When the trial begins, Tea Cake's black, male friends show up to oppose Janie, while a group of local white women arrive to support her. The all-white jury finds Janie not guilty. Tea Cake's friends are able to forgive her, and they want nothing more than to have Janie remain in the Everglades. However, she decides to return to Eatonville, only to find her, once upon a time neighbors, gossiping about her. Janie holds her head high through it all.