Janie’s husband Joe has a god-complex. He uses the phrase “I god” frequently, in the same why that other people might say “my god.” He also tells Janie “Ah told you in de very first beginnin’ dat Ah aimed tuh be uh big voice.” This reference to the beginning sounds a bit like Genesis and the “big voice” he mentions can be associated with representations of God from the bible. In the same chapter where this sentence appears, Hurston notes that the phrase “Our beloved mayor” is something people say but don’t mean, much like they say “God is everywhere.” A couple pages after this point is made, a character describes Joe as loving “obedience out of everybody under de sound of his voice.”

Joe Starks dies after his figurative death results from Janie’s words. During an argument they have in public, Janie contributes to the notion of Joe’s god-complex by saying “You big-bellies round here and put out a lot of brag, but ’tain’t nothin’ to it but yo’ big voice.” Joe strikes Janie after she makes this comment and not long after that, he gets sick. While he’s on his deathbed, Janie tells him they could have had a better relationship if he wasn’t “worshippin’ de works of [his] own hands.” When she keeps talking, Joe says, “Shut up! Ah wish thunder and lightnin’ would kill yuh,” which can be associated with the punishment Zeus is characterized as sending to mortals. Janie goes on though, criticizing Joe’s demand for “All dis bowin’ down, all dis obedience under [his] voice.”