Book Review - The Inward Woman

The main conflicts of the novel are between black women and black men. All of janie's partners beat her, even the usually loving tea cake who finds that being able to whip her reassured him in possession. The metaphor of the black woman as mule of the world gains an added residence later in the novel when the town folk find entertainment in tormenting a mule starks. When she finally stands up to her second husband, starks and berates him in front of a crowd of people, the narrator compares this to stripping a woman in the street.