Their Eyes Were Watching God: Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

Janie is tempted to ask Hezekiah what he knows about Tea Cake, but decides not to in order not to reveal her growing interest in him. Janie convinces herself, too, that Tea Cake is too young and poor for her, and must be the kind of man who would never marry. Tea Cake waits a week until he returns to the store. At first, Janie is reluctant to be friendly toward him, still feeling residual paranoia about the possibility of him stealing her money or engaging in other strange behavior. But Tea Cake quickly charms Janie after he begins to play make-believe guitar. After they exchange brief small talk, Tea Cake asks Janie to play checkers again, and coaches her on each move so that she can improve as a player. The townspeople aren't used to seeing Janie play checkers, but enjoy watching her do so.

Having stayed at the store all day, Tea Cake walks Janie home, where they then eat pound cake and make fresh lemonade. After remarking that the moon is too pretty to be "sleepin' it away," Tea Cake suggests that he and Janie go fishing at midnight. They stay out all night at the lake, and in the morning, Janie has to hide Tea Cake as she leaves to go to work in order to avoid rumors throughout town. Despite the anxiety of the whole affair, Janie expresses pleasure in feeling like "a child breaking the rules."

The next morning, Hezekiah warns Janie about spending time with a man like Tea Cake, who he believes is too "low" for a woman like Janie. Janie listens, but is nevertheless charmed once again when she arrives home that night – after climbing the steps of her porch, Tea Cake is already there waiting for her with a freshly caught trout in hand. After eating dinner, Janie falls asleep and awakes to Tea Cake combing her hair with his hand. Despite the feelings of pleasure that being with Tea Cake brings to her, Janie remains wary. As he combs her hair, Tea Cake expresses his fear that Janie is disgusted by him and that she wants him to leave. Janie consoles Tea Cake not by effusively revealing her feelings for him, but instead by reassuring him that they are friends. Tea Cake is disappointed by the way Janie labels their relationship, as he believes that they are lovers. Janie tells Tea Cake that he must be confused by the pleasures of eating fish and cornbread, and that he will feel differently the next day. Still disappointed, Tea Cake leaves and wishes Janie a good night.

Janie spends the following day thinking about Tea Cake. Despite her conscious desire to suppress her feelings for him, she refers to him as "a bee to a blossom – a pear tree blossom in spring." Yet Janie still attempts to convince herself that she is not interested in Tea Cake, even as she wonders where he is or why he hasn't returned yet. The next day, Tea Cake comes to her house, proclaims his feelings for Janie to be real, and swiftly leaves Janie to process his words. That night, Tea Cake returns again, and he and Janie eat dinner and spend the night together. Even as Janie enjoys her time with Tea Cake, she remains worried about his potential irresponsibility and inconsistency, and spends the following three days worrying in Tea Cake's absence. After these three days, however, Tea Cake returns once again to Janie's home – this time in a battered car (which, Tea Cake reveals, he bought to drive Janie around) – and asks Janie to the town picnic so that they may officially publicize their relationship to the rest of the town.