After Joe dies, when Janie is in her late 30s and economically secure and free, Tea Cake Woods comes strolling down the road with his guitar and his fun-loving ways. Like a true romantic hero, he courts Janie, a new and exciting experience for her. All he can offer her is his guitar, his songs, his mischievous spirit, and jobs on the muck of the Everglades with a gang of migrant workers. It is enough for Janie.
In a way, Tea Cake, like the others, defines Janie, but not in a restrictive way. In this marriage, Janie finds the love she sought in other relationships. Tea Cake is a man who respects Janie as an intelligent, exciting companion.
In addition to the security of Tea Cake's love, Janie is eventually accepted unconditionally and is not judged by the migrant workers. Nanny, Joe, and the Eatonville porch sitters would have said that the workers on the muck were unbearably crude people, but Janie accepts them as fellow human beings. Because of the brief time that she spends with Tea Cake on the muck, Janie transcends the misery of being defined by someone else and discovers who she is, what she can do, and how fulfilling love can be.
