Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Quote 1

"Naw, mah husband didn’t had nothin’ ... but hisself. He’s easy tuh love if you mess round ‘im. Ah loves ‘im."
"Why you, Mis’ Woods! Ah don’t b’lieve it. You’se jus’ sorter hypnotized, dat’s all."
"Naw, it’s real. Ah couldn’t stand it if he wuz tuh quit me. Don’t know whut Ah’d do. . He kin take most any lil thing and make summertime out of it when times is dull. Then we lives offa dathappiness he made till some mo’ happiness come along."

Mrs. Turner wants to turn Janie’s eyes and affection away from Tea Cake and toward her brother. She thinks her love for Tea Cake is but a sort of hypnosis that is only effective because Janie has not met men of real quality yet. But Janie is staunch in her love and loyalty to Tea Cake.

Chapter 16 Quote 2

"Look at me! Ah ain’t got no flat nose and ... liver lips. Ah’m uh featured woman. Ah got white folks’ features in mah face. Still and all Ah got tuh be lumped in wid all de rest. It ain’t fair. Even if dey don’t take us in wid dewhites, dey oughta make us uh class tuh ourselves."

To Mrs. Turner, conventional ugliness doesn’t apply. Her previously mentioned pointed nose, thin lips, and flat butt are a source of pride because she considers them to be evidence of her white bloodline. To Mrs. Turner, appearances are important because they denote social class.