What are the personal histories of Nanny Janie’s grandmother and of Janie’s mother?

In Zora Neale Hurston's novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God," Nanny Janie's grandmother and Janie's mother both have distinct personal histories. Nanny's grandmother was a slave who endured the harsh realities of bondage and experienced the pain of having her children torn away from her. She later became a freed woman and, out of her concern for Janie's future, arranged for her to marry an older, financially secure man. Janie's mother, on the other hand, was a fair-skinned woman who faced the challenges of living in a society deeply divided by colorism. She eventually ran away, leaving Janie in the care of her grandmother, in search of a better life. Despite their different paths, both women grappled with the limitations imposed by their circumstances and sought to protect Janie from similar struggles, albeit in different ways.

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