Annotated Passage 1 and Matching Movie Scene
Note: Dialogue in movie does not match the book dialogue. Watch until 2:00
Annotated Passage 1
"'Whut's de matter wid, you nohow? You ain't no young girl to be gettin all insulted 'bout yo' looks. You ain't no young courtin' gal. You'se uh ole woman, nearly forty.' (1)
'Yeah, Ah'm nearly forty and you'se already fifty. How come you can't talk about dat sometimes instead of always pointin' at me?' (2)
'T'ain no use in gettin' mad, Janie, 'cause Ah mention you ain't no young gal no mo'. Nobody in heah ain't lookin' for no wife outa yuh. Old as you is.'
'Naw, Ah ain't no young gal no mo' but den Ah ain't no old woman neither. Ah reckon Ah looks mah age too. But Ah'm uh woman every inch of me, an Ah know it. Dat's uh whole lot more'n you kin say. You big-bellies round here and put out a lot of brag, but 'tain't nothin' to it but yo' big voice. Humph! Talkin' 'bout me lookin' old! When you pull down yo' brtiches, you look lak the change uh life.'
'Great God from Zion!' Sam Watson gasped. "Y'all really playin' de dozens tuhnight." (3)
'Wha-whut's dat you said?' Joe challenged, hoping his ears had fooled him.
...Then Joe Starks realized all the meanings and his vanity bled like a flood (4)." - (79).
(1) Jody represents the Superego; he tells Janie that she should not care about her looks because she is married. He is suppressing Janie's ID from its desire to be young and natural.
(2) Janie's ID is resisting the the Superego. Janie is talking back and becoming aggressive for the first time. In Southern society, Janie should be a complying wife. She is not expected to talk back to her husband.
(3) Castration Anxiety: Janie has just told Jody that his penis is no longer visible. In turn, Jody becomes upset, as he is humiliated in front of the people in their store and has been stripped of his manhood.
(4) Chalice symbol: The flood and water is a female symbol. Jody has not been made into a woman, but is no longer a man. He holds no more of his manly power.