In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the relationship between Janie and the nanny is the subject of great controversy as to whether it is healthy or not. The idea that the most influential person in Janie's life is also the one who triggered her struggles when she was becoming a woman is sadly ironic. Nanny's true influence on Janie is brought to light through symbolic, decadent diction, Biblical and Greek mythological allusions, and natural metaphors, describing Janie's journey to womanhood, through finding her own opinion, acquiring a stable life from Nanny, her maturation, and what she has gained by becoming a woman. Through the use of symbolic diction, decadent diction, and metaphors, Hurston illustrates Janie's internal struggle to accept Nanny's opinions as the correct ones. Within Janie's conscious self, "There is a pool in [her] mind where words float on thought and thought on sound and sight..." where she can think freely with thoughts that are "... untouched by words" (24). This is a place where Janie can thrive by thinking through ideas without being inhibited by peer pressure. To truly understand the ideas formed in Janie's mind, Janie needs to come into contact with her body and herself. However, through symbolic diction, it is clear that Janie's impressionability leads her to not fully understand these thoughts; he has not reached the level of maturity necessary for this level of self-reflection. These qualities cause Janie to have a tendency to mirror Tata's opinions on issues, even when she internally disagrees with them. This tension is demonstrated when “The nanny entered again into this infinity of conscious pain on her old knees” (24). The “conscious pain” (24) that Janie talks about... in the middle of the paper... Tata's ideals, values ​​and opinions. Every aspect of Nanny was drilled into Janie, and once Nanny died, Janie was finally a free woman. The reason Janie was able to truly become a woman is because she realized that she could become a woman because when the nanny died it freed her. During the journey Janie went through as she became a woman she gained self-knowledge and understood on a deeper level why the nanny did those things. As Janie matured, at first glance it appeared that the nanny was hindering her progress. However, Tata's controlling actions were justified by his belief that he was doing the right thing and that God would take care of Janie. It is difficult to become a person unhindered by what others think, it took Nanny's death for Janie to be freed from a major influence and never return to this time in her life.