Married life with Joe Starks seems to get off to a good start as Janie and her husband ride the train to the new town (“…a town all outa colored folks…”) that he told her about. He indulges her by buying little trinkets, and she is impressed by his ability to talk to strangers. While she studies him and compares his rather portly figure to those of white folks, Joe talks about his plans for the town where they will live.
When they arrive in town, both are disappointed. It is much less than either of them expected, yet Joe is undaunted. He is full of ideas, and he has the money and the energy to carry them out. Having assessed the unprogressive nature of the town, Joe first arranges for a place for them to live, and next, sets a date for a town meeting to form a committee. The local men are impressed by Joe’s overwhelming personality and Janie’s good looks.
Joe rents a house for a month, and he and his wife settle in. The men gather around, and Joe picks them for information. They tell him that the town has a choice of two names: West Maitland or Eatonville. It will become Eatonville in honor of Captain Eaton, one of the original land donors.
Fifty acres is not enough land for a town, Joe decides, and, much to the amazement of the townsmen, he goes off to buy more land. Their skepticism is immense, but so is Joe’s self-confidence. He returns with the papers for 200 acres. While he is away, one of the local men tries to work up a conversation with Janie, yet she coolly rebuffs him.
Joe moves fast to build a crossroads store and to secure a government post office for the town. He begins selling off portions of his 200 acres to new settlers, the town grows rapidly, and when Joe’s new store is completed, he holds a party. The men who will become the porch sitters preside over the party, teasing and joking with one another. Joe makes a speech, but he refuses to let Janie say anything. He comes away from the meeting with what he wants: the position of elected mayor.
So far, this has been Joe’s Eatonville, and now that the store and post office are functioning, Joe announces to Janie that she must work in the store, because he is simply too busy. Janie demurs because the street is dark, but Joe has an answer for that. He writes Sears, Roebuck, and Company, pays for a street light, and has a big barbecue festival after the lamp has been installed. Of course, it is Joe who climbs the ladder to be the first person to light the street lamp.
The long dark hair that was beribboned for the schoolgirl Janie becomes an item of jealousy for Joe. He makes Janie hide her hair under headrags while she works in the store because he is afraid that some other man might touch it or admire it. By now, Janie knows that she has no power to dispute Joe, and so she complies.
The women in the town have no way of knowing how unhappy their mayor’s wife is. As they watch Joe push their men to upgrade the town, and as he builds an impressive house, their envy of Janie increases. Her feelings of being different, of being avoided, of not fitting in—those feelings she had as a schoolgirl—are repeated. As the mayor’s wife, a woman certainly more prosperous than the other women, she realizes she can’t get close to them for friendship. One friendship does develop, however, with Pheoby Watson.
The porch sitters soon take their places at Joe’s and also observe and comment on the mayor’s wife. They can’t help but notice Joe’s verbal abuse of her and her subservience to his harsh criticism of the mistakes she makes in the store and post office. They wonder about the quality of their marriage relationship.
