“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth.” (Hurston, p. )
This quote, which marks the beginning of the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God immediately points out the fact there is a difference between men and women, which goes against the policy of “gender equality”. Basically, Zora Neale Hurston is stating that there is a chance that some men will get their wishes, and there is an equal chance that they will not: It all depends upon what happens over the course of time. They can not control whether or not what they are longing for will come to them. This is why they are compared to a ship at a distance. There is no way for a bystander to control where a ship will go or when it will get to him.
There is, however, a different opinion about women’s dreams. According to the text, a woman can absolutely control what happens in her life. Any serious dreams that she has will be attained, because females have the ability to do what they know needs to be done, no matter what.
With the contrasting characteristics of men and women, it is safe to say that Hurston was a feminist who had the utmost respect for women. She believed that, although men had a higher role in society than women, women were superior to men in a way that mattered more than mere status. They have more will and more mind power, and can make more happen in their lives than men can. The quote states that a man may work hard for what he wants and still come up short, but a woman never fails when she has a real dream that she puts her mind to. A woman’s dream is reality.
