Janie’s Self-exploration-Interpretation Of Their Eyes Were Watching God From Lacan’s "the Mirror Stage Theory"

Zora Neal Hurston (1891-1960) is an influential black women writer, black folklore collecting researcher and anthropologist, and the most important pioneer on the black American women literature in 1920s-1930s during American Harlem Renaissance time. She is the first black woman writer who makes black woman as a hero, self-exploration and self liberation of black women as a theme, establishes a framework for contemporary black feminist literature. Her work Their Eyes Were Watching God is a classic literature of black women. The work vividly demonstrates protagonist Janie revolts traditional custom, and fights for her human rights’ experience. This novel not only breaks the traditional American literature forbidden zone, but also paves the way for the overall revitalization of black literature later. Today, as a super era culture consciousness, Hurston’s literary practice, regardless of the cultural haecceity or the artistic originality can be regarded as part of the American literary tradition.This paper takes the "mirror stage" theory as the theoretical basis, using three different stages of Lacan’s mirror stage theory to combine with Janie’s three times marriages, analyses Janie’s tough self-seeking journey in inhuman adversity, racial oppression, sexual discrimination and class oppression, points out that women relies on men’s love to realize their self-value is out of the question and unreliable, and women who want to find the true-self, realize the self value, can only rely on themselves.At the beginning, this paper introduces the black woman writer Zora Neal Hurston, and her work Their Eyes Were Watching God, and literature review.The second chapter describes the theoretical basis:introduces the three stages of Lacan’s theory of mirror stage:pre mirror stage, mirror stage and post mirror stage; also highlights "primordial lack, other, aggressivity and subject". It clarifies the theory relation of mutual effect between self and other and subject depending on other in the mirror to begin to build the image of self in the mirror stage.The third chapter uses Lacan’s mirror stage theory to discuss in detail Janie’s self-exploration in the apron type marriage. In the pre mirror stage due to the mother’s "primordial lack", Nanny’s mirror image of "other" and Logan’s "aggressivity" influence, Janie goes to her first marriage, revealing self-exploration result is that Janie confused self-image in the mirror with others’.The fourth chapter uses Lacan’s mirror stage theory to discuss in detail Janie’s self-exploration in the head rag type marriage. In the mirror stage due to Joe’s aggressive effects, second marriage ends in tragedy, revealing self-exploration result is that Janie decides to disengage from the patriarchal oppression to pursue equal marriage.The fifth chapter uses Lacan’s mirror stage theory to discuss in detail Janie’s self-exploration in the overall type marriage. In the post mirror stage due to the mirror image of Tea Cake, Janie reconstructs her own identity, revealing self-exploration result is Janie subverts white cultural values, and reconstructs racial subjectivity road.Conclusion part not only shows that Janie’s unique lies in regarding marriage as gaining life experience, outside of marriage, she completes the female subjectivity recasting; more importantly, Hurston reveals to us the black women only rebuild themselves, construct female subjectivity, they can influence the black community with independent individual identity and brand-new appearance, and then change their surroundings, achieve the goal of rebuilding female and racial subjectivity.