Quote 1
[Pheoby about Janie:] "Still and all, she’s her own woman. She oughta know by now whut she wants tuh do." (12.7)
Pheoby, being a woman, recognizes that women are intelligent and know what they want out of life and out of their men. She sees that independence in Janie and thus awards her friend with the title of being "her own woman." This sense of self-ownership and self-confidence is usually reserved for a man. Thus, this can be seen as one instance of Janie crossing the traditional boundaries between men and women.
Quote 2
[Pheoby]: "Course she kin do as she please, but dat’s uh good chance she got up at Sanford. De man’s wife died and he got u lovely place tuh take her to – already furnished. Better’n her house Joe left her." (12.5)
Pheoby obviously values material wealth and stability, marks of the higher class. Because the Sanford undertaker’s house is "better’n her house Joe left her," Pheoby thinks the decision is a no-brainer: marry the undertaker. But Janie has different values than Pheoby and the other Eatonville citizens; she’s experience material wealth and knows that it’s not what drives her.
Quote 3
[Pheoby]: "Yeah, Sam say most of ‘em goes to church so they’ll be sure to rise in Judgment. Dat’s de day dat every secret is s’posed to be made known. They wants to be there and hear it all." (1.46)
Pheoby comments on the porch’s insatiable curiosity, their invasive prying into everyone’s private lives. They hunger for scandalous stories and revealing words, maybe because they aren’t out living themselves and need ample communication as a replacement.
Quote 4
[Janie]: "To start off wid, people like dem wastes up too much time puttin’ they mouf on things they don’t know nothin’ about […]"
[Pheoby]: "[…] so long as they get a name to gnaw on they don’t care whose it is, and what about, ‘specially if they can make it sound like evil." (1.53-54)
Gossipers, according to Janie and Pheoby, have no greater purpose in life than to take someone’s words and twist them to make them sound "like evil." They find great pleasure in defaming others, whether or not such infamy is deserved.
Quote 5
[Pheoby]: "You know if you pass some people and don’t speak tuh suit ‘em dey got tuh go way back in yo’ life and see whut you ever done. They know mo’ ‘bout yuh than you do yo’self. An envious heart makes a treacherous ear. They done ‘heard’ ‘bout you just what they hope done happened." (1.42)
Pheoby recognizes that because Janie doesn’t make the effort to be friendly to the gossipers, they feel left out and hurt, so they look for ammunition with which to wound her. Pheoby also realizes that jealous people don’t forget anything bad about you, so they can store up dirt to use later. And for lack of real stuff to gossip about, they’ll just make it up.
Quote 6
[Sam]: "Oh dey got it all figgered out. Maybe it ain’t as bad as they say, but they talk it and make it sound real bad on her part."
[Pheoby]: "Dat’s jealousy and malice. Some uh dem very mens wants tuh do whut dey claim deys skeered Tea Cake is doin’." (12.10-11)
Pheoby recognizes the driving force behind the town’s petty talk about Janie. She knows that the men are jealous and hypocritical—jealous because they want the very thing Tea Cake has won (Janie’s affection), and hypocritical because they’re trying to marry Janie for her money despite trash talking Tea Cake for supposedly going after her wealth.
Quote 7
[Pheoby]: "Gal, you sho looks good. You looks like youse yo’ own daughter." They both laughed. "Even wid dem overhalls on, you shows yo’ womanhood." (1.30)
Even at age 40 and with men’s clothing on, Janie seems to be attractive enough to draw the gaze of not only her best friend but also the jealous gossipers on the porch. Pheoby shows the sincerity of her friendship by complimenting Janie on how good she looks, instead of attacking her with bitter words. Although Pheoby might envy Janie’s appearance at some subconscious level, she does not let it become so all-consuming that it compromises their friendship.