Content Warning: The novel mentions incidents of rape, forced pregnancy, and domestic abuse; describes the lives of enslaved people, racism, and colorism; and portrays mental illness. Although the novel uses the n-word as a historically accurate representation of speech, this guide does not reproduce this slur and instead obscures it in direct quotation.

The “gossips” who sit on the porch of the general store in the all-Black town of Eatonville, Florida, are curious when Janie Starks, the widow of the former mayor, returns from a mysterious trip. In a well-remembered scandal, Janie left with a much younger man, “Tea Cake,” after her husband’s death. The men observe how beautiful she still is, while the women seem envious and a little glad to see her shabbily dressed.

Impatient with this talk, Janie’s best friend, Pheoby Watson, decides to bring Janie a meal and find out where she has been. Janie tells Pheoby that she married Tea Cake, who has since died. Pheoby is shocked: The current gossip is that Tea Cake took all of Janie’s money and then left Janie for a younger woman. Pheoby encourages Janie to end the scandal around the relationship by telling the town about the marriage, but Janie doesn’t care what the town thinks; she’s seen the world and she still has money.