Hurston's ninth chapter depicts Joe's lavish funeral. In Janie's mind, however, Joe died long before so behind her mourning veil were feelings of "resurrection and life" (84). In a symbolic act of self-cleansing, Janie burns every one of the head rags Joe made her wear. After the funeral, suitors begin appearing, looking to marry Janie for her deceased husband's property. Janie, however, "liked being lonesome for a change" (86). Without a husband for the first time in seventeen years, Janie revels in the freedom of being alone.
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