Their Eyes Were Watching God

Chapter 9

“Before she slept that night she burnt up every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her hair in one thick braid swinging well below her waist” What is the symbolic meaning of Janie´s action in the quote? What does this quote mean for Janie?

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Janie is emancipating herself from the "ownership" of Joe. Now that he is dead, she can burn the headscarves: symbols of his ownership of her. Letting her hair down represents her femininity and sense of self that is now free of male control.

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