“She had never heard of mixed feelings. There were friends and there were enemies.” – Winterson Pg. 1
This quote by Jeanette is used to describe her mother. Jeanette’s mother sees the world in black and white with nothing in between. There are people she sees as good (friends) and people she see as bad (enemies). For her there is nothing in between. People are either holy or evil. In the eyes of Jeanette’s mother, one cannot be good if they are non-religious. These views have been deeply instilled into Jeanette.
Further on in the novel the reader realizes that Jeanette does not fall into her mother’s black and white views. Yes, Jeanette loves God and goes to church religiously but she falls into middle ground since she is a lesbian. Unfortunately, there is no middle ground for Jeanette’s mother. Since Jeanette is a lesbian she must be deemed evil.
This quote from the novel foreshadows the plot of the novel. It shows the problems that Jeanette will have with her mother and her mother’s views. Since Jeanette is in the middle ground she will be kicked out of her house for being a lesbian. In her mother’s eyes, she will not exist.
This has a tremendous impact on Jeanette. It allows her to take a step back and question everything that has been instilled into her. She questions whether or not she can still be a good person since she loves women. Winterson uses this quote to suggest that in life there is no such thing as “black” and “white”. There is a spectrum, room for fluidness.