Zora Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God depicts the life of an African-American woman named Janie on a life-long quest of self discovery. The novel brings up many interesting themes, like race relations, mankind's desire to judge others, and not least of all gender relations.Throughout the novel, Hurston depicts the male characters as generally weak. Although many work as foils to Janie they each represent certain ways that men will fail their women. Overall each of Janie's husbands; Logan, Joe, and Tea Cake, are used by Hurston to show that men are not trustworthy.

Janie's first husband, Logan is portrayed in almost stereotypical terms for a male character. Janie is forced to marry him by her grandmother, who wants Janie to be well cared for. Janie tries nevertheless to go into the marriage with high hopes, believing that in time she will learn to love Logan. At first things look good,but it is not long before Janie is confronted with disappointment. She finds that "her husband had stopped talking in rhymes to her."(26) Logan quickly becomes demanding and even violent. He does whatever he thinks best without so much as a thought to Janie's wishes. On a different level Janie is even disappointed with Logan's physical characteristics. She claims that "his belly is too big too, now, and his toe-nails look lak mule foots. [sic]" (24) Hurston shows how there is no part of a man which can be trusted, weather his empty promises or his fading physical appearance.

Some of the same issues arise in Janie's second husband, Joe. Janie, tired of her unsatisfactory relationship with Logan meets Joe, a wandering near-vagabond, intent on settling in a new city. Janie finds Joe's outlook on life refreshing, and so decides to run off with him. Quite quickly however Janie finds that Joe exerts one of the same problems that Logan had, control. Joe becomes mayor of a new town and establishes a new store, making Janie and Joe rich by comparison to anyone near them. Janie finds however that Joe limits her to little more than a facade. Early on the town calls for Janie to make a public speech, but Joe quickly intercedes, saying that his "wife don't know nothin' 'bout no speech-main'.[sic]" (43) Janie is quietly disturbed by this, feeling as though her voice has been stolen from her. She had trusted that Joe would let her be a new person, but in the end he subjected her to his own reality. Tea cake, Janie's third husband, in the end will reflect some of the same probelms that Janie's first husbands had.

Although Tea Cake at first seems to liberate Janie more, he is characterized by the same problems as Janie's former men. Tea Cake exerts his authority over Janie much in the same way as Logan and Joe had, but he masks it by giving Janie the things that had been denied by them. After stealing some of Janie's money and throwing a wild party, Tea Cake explains not inviting Janie by saying that he "wuz skeered [Janie] might git all mad and quit me for takin [sic]" her to a party with lower class citizens (124). Janie is so disillusioned by what
she believes to be a loving relationship that she forgives Tea Cake and loves him all the more. Tea Cake eventually contracts rabies trying to defend Janie from a rabid dog. He goes crazy and tries to kill Janie, forcing her to defend herself and kill him. Although he was even doing a noble thing, Hurston still uses this to show how a man's power is untrustworthy. A small malady can tear away his love and devotion.

This last point about Tea Cake leaves one question to be asked however, which is weather Hurston is trying to show that man's untrustworthiness  is an evil. Each of Janie's Husbands had problems that made them untrustworthy, but it is through these trials that Janie is able to find her voice. The Janie married to Logan at the beginning of the novel would scarcely be able to defend herself in the same way that the Janie at the end does against Tea Cake. Often the fact that the men were untrustworthy was a fact of their biology or health, not of their personality. In the end however, the main point is that men should not be trusted, weather or not they can help it.