Janie and Tea Cake: An Example of Egalitarian Marriage?

In reading various articles on feminist readings of Their Eyes, I have noticed that, at least originally, the prevailing interpretation seemed to be that Janie fights her way through two controlling men, but eventually finds herself in a truly egalitarian marriage with Tea Cake. These readings attempt to neatly describe Janie's journey as one that ends with some kind of growth and transformation. While this might be a convenient way to read the novel, I find that the text doesn't bear it out. One article I read suggested that Tea Cake was at least partly in favor of feminine advancement, and cited instances in which he takes Janie fishing and teaches her to play checkers. It's true that these are activities neither Logan Killicks nor Joe Starks allowed her to try, but I would argue that giving a woman a couple of hobbies doesn't really qualify as standing her on equal footing with men. In fact, Tea Cake's first encounter with Janie is a didactic one, with him in the position as teacher and her below, as his student. This is where she remains throughout their relationship. Just a few examples: he takes her money without her permission and spends it all on a party to which he doesn't even invite her, asks her to work in the fields alongside him (something she absolutely refused to do for her previous husbands), and beats her to maintain his "possession" of her. The aforementioned article argued that since Janie had already beaten him due to his interest in Nunkie, his physical violence towards her was not an element of a patriarchal relationship. To that I roll my eyes and say....right. Yep, sounds like a super-egalitarian marriage to me. Actually, it sounds like verse three of the same song Janie has been singing since she first was forced to marry Logan Killicks; the only reason we are tempted to read it differently is because Janie does. She is in love with Tea Cake, and so in her mind, he can do no wrong. We as readers, though, should know better.