The Aftermath

Will Landschulz
Am Lit Per. 2
Mrs. Lamagdeleine

Here we see Joe's funeral.  It is an about-face from the funeral of the donkey, where it was an empty ceremony to everyone but Janie, where this funeral is empty to noone but Janie.  To keep up appearances, she "sends her face to the funeral" but inside rejoices at the freedom given her by Joe's death.  After the funeral, she keeps up this illusion through extended mourning, which rebuffs any and all suitors, and gives her a chance to exercise her freedoms.  However, she is also on the lookout for someone who can give her what she originally wanted, which is real love, rather than the material love given her by Joe.  This is most definitively spelled out by her decision to take off (and later burn) the headscarf imposed on her by Joe, which turns her from a reasonably beautiful, middle-aged woman to a stunning young woman reminiscent of who she was before her marriage to Logan.  However, she is not entirely comfortable without Joe, having worked within his rules for so long.  She feels awkward when trying to collect the rent from boarders, apologizing to each tenant when coming around with the bill.  She ends up sending an assistant, Hezekiah, to attend to that sort of chore.  Hezekiah is an intriguing character, but he is only named after Joe's death, and then as a copy of Joe (he obviously emulates the former Mayor, to the degree of smoking like Joe did in life.  I'm sure that Hezekiah will eventually become Eatonville's next Mayor.  We may see this or not, but it doesn't really matter to Janie, as Tea Cake, whom we have yet to meet but whom we know is Janie's next love, is unlikely to run for Mayor.