A Feminist Reading of Their Eyes Were Watching God In Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the reader is treated to a compelling story of the lifelong pursuit of happiness and happiness from part of a woman Love. Although this novel can be analyzed through different critical lenses, I believe that the perspectives offered by French feminists Helene Cixous and Luce Irigaray were very helpful in informing my interpretation of Hurston's book. In “The Laughter of the Medusa,” Cixous discusses a phenomenon she calls antilove that I found useful in defining the social hierarchy of women and the relationships between them in the novel. Furthermore, Cixous addresses the idea of ​​woman as caregiver, which can be illustrated through the character of Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God. On the other hand, Luce Irigaray discusses the different modes of sexual desire of men and women in her essay “ The sex that is not one." Many examples can be found in the novel to support and refute his claims. According to Cixous, the most heinous crime committed by men against women is the promotion of anti-love. “Insidiously, violently, they have led [women] to hate women, to be enemies of themselves, to mobilize their immense strength against themselves, to be executors of their own manly needs” (1455). Their Eyes Were Watching God offers many examples of women in fierce contention with each other, usually involving or benefiting a man. Janie is confronted with the mischief of her neighbors in the first chapter of the novel, when she returns to Eatonville after her adventure with Tea Cake. “The women took the faded shirt and the muddy overalls and put them aside as a souvenir. It was a weapon against his strength and if I… middle of paper… 1930 can also be applied today, in the context of my personal life and that of the surrounding society. The challenges that Janie faces throughout her life are the same challenges that every woman, no matter where or when she lives, has faced. In my opinion, it is this universality that makes Their Eyes Were Watching God and the accompanying criticism so valuable to readers. Works Cited Cixous, Hélène. “The laughter of the Medusa”. The critical tradition: classic texts and contemporary trends. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998. 1454-1466.Hurston, Zora Neale. Their eyes looked at God. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998. Irigaray, Luce. “That sex that is not one”. The critical tradition: classic texts and contemporary trends. Ed. David H. Richter. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998. 1467-1471.