Quote 41
[Janie to Pheoby]: "Ah’m older than Tea Cake, yes. But he done showed me where it’s de thought dat makes de difference in ages. If people thinks de same they can make it all right. So in the beginnin’ new thoughts had tuh be thought and new words said. After Ah got used tuh dat, we gits ‘long jus’ fine. He done taught me de maiden language all over. Wait till you see de new blue satin Tea Cake done picked out for me tuh stand up wid him in. High heel slippers, necklace, earrings, everything he wants tuh see me in." (12.40)
Janie justifies her ostentatious choice in clothing by claiming that Tea Cake has "taught [her] de maiden language all over [again]." Thus, because she speaks like a maiden (young woman), she must be a maiden. While her logic may be faulty, readers may assume that because Janie feels young again, she dresses accordingly. Instead of having two separate Janies—the external and internal—like she did with Joe, Janie now shows on the outside how she feels on the inside.
Quote 42
[Janie]: "…Ah jus’ uh ole woman dat nobody don’t want but you."
"Naw, you ain’t neither. You only sound ole when you tell folks when you wuz born, but wid de eye you’se young enough tuh suit most any man. Dat ain’t no lie. Ah knows plenty mo’ men would take yuh and work hard fuh de privilege. Ah done heard ‘em talk." (19.124-125)
Tea Cake takes Janie’s remark, which did not even explicitly refer to appearance, and turns it into something about her beauty. Tea Cake uses her good looks and youthful appearance to justify his jealousy, which is the last thing that Janie wants. So again, are Janie’s good looks a curse or a blessing?
Quote 43
"Listen, Jody, you ain’t de Jody ah run off down de road wid. You’se whut’s left after he died." (8.39)
For Janie, the real Joe died a long time ago when the "big voice" took over. This Joe that lies before Janie is a pitiful shadow and remnant of Joe’s former glory. Whereas the "real" Joe had substance, this Joe is only a voice.
Quote 44
[Janie]: "You mean he’s liable tuh die, doctah?"
[Doctor Simmons]: "’Sho is. But de worst thing is he’s liable tuh suffer somethin’ awful befo’ he goes." (19.96-97)
This is the second husband that Janie will lose to death. Both Joe and Tea Cake should have been sought medical treatment before their illnesses reached a critical stage, but both were too proud to do so. In the end, such reckless behavior not only kills them, but forces them and their loving wife (Janie) to "suffer somethin’ awful" before they die. Sadly, both deaths were utterly preventable.
Quote 45
[Janie]: "Ah done been tuh de horizon and back and now Ah kin set heah in mah house and live by comparisons. Dis house ain’t so absent of things lak it used tuh be befo’ Tea Cake come along. It’s full uh thoughts, ‘specially dat bedroom." (20.6)
Now that Janie has lived her life to the fullest, she can look back and indulge in memories. She can now "live by comparisons," comparing her marriages to one another and appreciating little things like the bedroom of her Eatonville house now that it is rife with memories of Tea Cake, and even Joe. Now that Janie’s dreams have been fulfilled, she can recall that happiness at will and be grateful for it because she has lived in darker, less blessed times.
Quote 46
She knew things that nobody had ever told her. For instance, the words of the trees and the wind. She often spoke to falling seeds and said, "Ah hope you fall on soft ground," because she had heard seeds saying that to each other as they passed. (3.31)
Having endured a loveless and thankless marriage with Logan, Janie has sympathy for anything that might encounter hardship in life—especially the seeds that remind her of her lovely experience under the pear tree.
Quote 47
"Ah’d ruther be dead than for Jody tuh think Ah’d hurt him," she sobbed to Pheoby. "It ain’t always been too pleasant, ‘cause you know how Joe worships de works of his own hands, but God in heben knows Ah wouldn’t do one thing tuh hurt nobody. It’s too underhand and mean." (8.6)
Even though Joe has treated her badly, Janie cannot find it in her heart to wish him ill. It’s not that she’s in love with Joe, though, it’s more of a universal compassion for every human ("Ah wouldn’t […] hurt nobody").
Quote 48
"Dis sittin’ in de rulin’ chair is been hard on Jody," she muttered out loud. She was full of pity for the first time in years. Jody had been hard on her and others, but life had mishandled him too. Poor Joe! Maybe if she had known some other way to try, she might have made his face different. But what that other way could be, she had no idea. (8.45)
Even when Joe dies unrepentant for all the wrongs he has committed against Janie, she pities him. Where most people would rejoice at Joe’s death, Janie actually shows regret. She wishes that she had known how to treat him better while he was alive. This is rather ironic since Joe voiced no regrets about how he had treated her. This reveals the sheer depth of Janie’s compassion and willingness to forgive, a characteristic that makes her almost Christ-like.
Quote 49
They fought on. "You done hurt mah heart, now you come wid uh lie tuh bruise mah ears! Turn go mah hands!" Janie seethed. But Tea Cake never let go. They wrestled on until they were doped with their own fumes and emanations; till their clothes had been torn away; till he hurled her to the floor and held her there melting her resistance with the heat of his body, doing things with their bodies to express the inexpressible; kissed her until she arched her body to meet him and they fell asleep in sweet exhaustion.
The next morning Janie asked like a woman, "You still love ole Nunkie?"
"Naw, never did, and you know it too. Ah didn’t want her."
"Yeah, you did." She didn’t say this because she believed it. She wanted to hear his denial. She had to crow over the fallen Nunkie.
"Whut would Ah do wid dat lil chunk of a woman wid you around? She ain’t good for nothin’ exceptin’ tuh set up in uh corner by de kitchen stove and break wood over her head. You’se something tuh make uh man forgit tuh git old and forgit tuh die." (15.14-18)
Even though Janie has every reason to spite and leave Tea Cake for his inappropriate flirting with Nunkie, she forgives him—or rather, they forgive each other in a cathartic session of lovemaking. However, Janie’s forgiveness is not entirely selfless. She cannot bring herself to forgive Nunkie. Thus, we see a less forgiving, cattier side of Janie that is rather uncharacteristic.