Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Quote 1

"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 uhman forgit tuh git old and forgit tuh die."

Tea Cake reassures Janie of his love for her and only her. He praises her beauty as mesmerizing enough to "make uh man forget to get old and forget to die." Her love makes Tea Cake ageless and immortal.

Chapter 15 Quote 2

It ... wasn’t long before Tea Cake found her…and tried to talk. She cut him short with a blow and they fought from one room to the other, Janie trying to beat him, and Tea Cake kept holding her wrists and wherever he could to keep her from going too far.

Even though Janie is justifiably angry with Tea Cake for flirting with Nunkie, she transgresses traditional gender boundaries by daring to hit Tea Cake. Because he loves her, Tea Cake does not retaliate but he still "keeps her from going too far;" in other words, he keeps Janie from engaging in too much of this all-too-masculine violence.