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“That was a bad example but I knew what she meant. It meant that to create was a fundament, to appreciate, a supplement. Once created, the creature was separate from the creator, and needed no seconding to fully exist. “(Winterson, p.46).
“I don’t know if it’s up your street, it tells you how to build a perfect person, it’s all about this man who does it, but it’s not food if you ain’t got the equipment” (Winterson, 67).”

The ideas of perfection and separation are major themes in Jeanette Winnterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. In the chapter entitled Exodus, Elsie tells Jeanette that “once created, the creature was separate from the creator, and needed no seconding to fully exist.” This line strikes me as a perfect description of Jeanette’s character. Jeanette is separate from almost everything in her life. She’s adopted, making her physically separated her biological mother. She also expresses doubts about her mother during several point in the novel, saying that “people didn’t understand the way she thought; neither did I, but I loved her because she always knew exactly why things happened” (43). She’s isolated at school, seen as something of a ‘religious fanatic’ which leads to abuse from both the students and the teachers, but after her temporary hearing loss, realizes that her church sometimes gets things wrong. In short, Jeanette has been shaped by all these factors in her life, but is completely separate from all of them and does not need their validation to continue to exist.
When I was reading the chapter Leviticus, I was struck by the line towards the end of the story about the prince searching for the perfect woman to marry: “I don’t know if it’s up your street, it tells you how to build a perfect person, it’s all about this man who does it, but it’s not food if you ain’t got the equipment” (Winterson, 67). In the same chapter, Jeanette talks about how she was enraptured by a sermon about being perfect. The story referenced in the quote is the story of Frankenstein and his monster. This implies that a person created solely to be perfect is predisposed to become a monster. I think this is included as a warning to Jeanette. Frankenstein’s monster was created to be a perfect human, but once released from his creator, he becomes a murderous monster, disgusted with his creator and with his situation. Jeanette is becoming separated from her creators and she may soon find herself changing from perfect to ‘monstrous’.

I found the beginning of the “Leviticus” chapter in Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit to be a fascinating account of the struggle between Heathens (those who do not believe in a major religion) and those who follow the “Word” of God. In this particular passage, we see a struggle between two neighbors play out on a Sunday, during which the neighbors are “fornicating” loudly, “On a Sunday”, no less (Winterson, 54). Then, in response, they run to the piano and begin playing hymns from the Redemption Hymnal, provoking an aggressive response from the Heathens next door:

“The hymn had a rousing chorus that moved my mother to such an extent that she departed entirely from the notation of the Redemption Hymnal, and instead wrought her own huge chords that sounded the length of the piano. No note was exempt. By the time we got to verse 3, Next Door had started to bang on the wall.”

I find a few things significant from this particular passage. It could be said that with her “depart[ing] entirely” from what is written in the Hymnal, she is committing a violation of the strict Word of God, by straying away from what is written. In a way, she is committing sin just like the neighbors next door. What is more likely is that she is interpreting the Word in her own way by playing the music loudly in retaliation for the sins that occurred next door.

Another eye-catching feature of this passage is the capitalization of the words “Next Door”. Throughout the passage, Winterson capitalizes certain words such as “Word”, “World Service”, “Heathen”, “Deuteronomy”. In reference to and contextualized with the Bible, these words are meant to be capitalized. However, the capitalization of the enemy “Next Door” suggests that not only are they the enemy, getting in the way of this family’s Sunday, but are satanic and evil in doing so. This is what I would call the process of “Satanization” – the Heathens “Next Door” are committing sins so horrible that they are literally becoming Satan – which is just disguised as “Next Door”. “Satan” is always capitalized in the Bible, just as God is.

What constitutes a problem is not the thing, or the environment where we find the thing, but the conjunction of the two;  (45)

This line stood out to me in particular because of the way it relates to our discussion of identity and queer theory.  In context, she’s speaking in terms of her sampler and how it makes more sense in Elsie’s house than in her sewing class.  However, I think that this concept is really interesting when applied to the idea of identity.  Take for instance a lesbian couple.  According to Winterson, there is nothing inherently wrong with the couple themselves.  Place them in a Greek Orthodox church, however, and issues arise.  However, if you take a devout Greek Orthodox and place him in a lesbian dive bar in the West Village and issues are bound to arise there too.  Perhaps then it is environment that colors our perception of good and bad, right and wrong.  If something can be right in one context and wrong in another, is there such thing as something that is inherently, at its core, good?  And for that matter, can something be inherently, at its core, bad?  This might be a stretch, but this then leads me to explore the concept of gender.  I think that Winterson’s words here can be used to argue that everything, not just goodness and badness, is contextual and situational.  Therefore, gender, sexuality, and everything else that we as a society have forced into black and white boxes could be argued to be entirely situational, rather than inherent.

 

“She recognised things according to expectation and environment. If you were in a particular place, you expected to see particular things” (Winterson, 45).

In this part of the passage, it is evident that the author repeats the words “expectation” in order to convey a deeper meaning about society. It is evident in the passage already that Jeanette is not what society “expects”. In this particular moment, she is turning in needlework which her teacher does not accept because it is against expectations. Needlework, from the perspective of a close-minded person bred through society, is supposed to be colorful, with a happy motto and done with the love of a woman. Jeanette puts her own perspective on things and is bashed because it is against what is “expected” at this moment. She specifically places this moment in the novel to criticize society’s narrow thinking in that just because someone is revealing them true selves because it is not within the guidelines of societal standards, it is somehow wrong. It is evident that this theme continues throughout the novel because as a Christian raised woman in a small town, Jeanette would be “expected” to spread the Christian faith and follow the rules along with her religion. As it turns out, Jeanette is completely opposite of the preplanned life set up for her since the beginning of her life. This may ultimately lead to feelings of shame and detachment from the world because society fails to consider the variety of personalities and characteristics people possess. There is no room for difference so when it is revealed, no one wants to accept it and learn from it.

Jeanette Winterson, young and naive grew up with teachings of the bible pumping through her veins. As her Mother taught her, their lives revolved around the Lord, everything that happens is of the Lord’s doing and the Lord was never wrong. Jeanette’s Mother made it a point to teach her daughter about the The Bible inside and out. Jeanette was trained to be a loyal member of the church but, what if this training clouded her judgement rather than helping her find her way to blissful salvation?
Jeanette has a wall built between her and reality. It is clear in the novel when the author states, “I learnt that it rains when clouds collide with a high building, like a steeple, or a cathedral; the impact punctures them, and everybody underneath gets wet. This was why, in the old days, when the only tall buildings were holy, people used to say cleanliness is next to godliness. The more godly your town, the more high buildings you’d have, and the more rain you’d get.” (Winterson 15)
It is obvious to anyone who has faith in the sciences that the occurrence of rain is far more complex than the collision of cloud and tall building. Though the idea that this is so is kind of cute in a fairytale sort of way, it is simply not so. As a young child, Jeanette is naive because she knows nothing about the world outside the church.
Though we haven’t reached the point in the story where Jeanette comes out, it can be assumed, with such a strict loyalty to the Lord, that revealing her sexuality was an incredibly difficult thing to do. In the novel, when discussing two unmarried women who ran a shop together, Jeanette heard her Mother say, “they dealt in unnatural passions” (7). The term “unnatural” has synonyms such as outrageous, bizarre and preposterous, creating a negative stigma around the word thus, creating a negative stigma around women loving women. Being taught that being lesbian is unnatural at a young age can certainly make it difficult to accept your sexuality.

‘All things fall and are built again

And those that build them again are gay’ (30).

I found it rather interesting that the author chose this section or rather these two lines from “Lapis Lazuli” by William Butler Yeats to include in this novel. Although, this quote is not directly from Winterson herself, I found that these lines directly related to the story. My interpretation of these lines in the context of this novel is that the “things” that have fallen represent the LGBTQ community. These members fall because of the ridicule, disrespect, and hate that they receive from society.   For example, as we saw in the “It Gets Better” videos there were several common similarities in the different coming out stories. These people were all made fun of, judged, and unhappy. This was their “fall,” however, they “built themselves again” by experiencing these common aspects essential to “Coming Out Narratives,” like the ones we had discussed in class. For example in these narratives they go through steps such as re-introducing themselves, realizing that they were different, and coming out. I know that William Butler Yeats intended to have the meaning of gay as happiness, but in this context I think that Winterson wants the reader to see that those who must “build themselves again” or transform themselves are members of the LGBTQ community. Looking at the greater scheme of the novel as a whole, I believe Winterson’s message is that members of the LGBTQ community do not have it easy, however, they can build themselves again and be happy.

Winterson includes these lines on page 30, so fairly early in the novel. I think this purpose is a way for the reader to foreshadow that the main character, Jeanette, over the course of the novel is going to struggle and fall, however, will find herself despite her strict family upbringing.   As I’ve been getting further into the novel, I have found support for my conclusion. For example, Jeanette faces struggles in school. It is obvious that she is different from the other students and misunderstood by her teacher. Mrs. Virtue criticizes her artwork because she only used 3 colors while the rest of the class used 4. This shows her deviance from the “normal,” however; Jeanette tries to defend her artwork, which is a way of defending herself to the Mrs. Virtue.

“One day, a lovely woman brought the emperor a revolving circus operated by midgets. The midgets acted all of the tragedies and many of the comedies. They acted them all at once, and it was fortunate that Tetrahedron had so many faces, otherwise he might have died from fatigue. They acted them all at once, and the emperor, walking round his theatre, could see them all at once, if he wished. Round and round he walked, and so learned a very valuable thing: that no emotion is the final one” (Winterson 52)

This part of the novel, while discussing the author’s childhood, shows the struggle that she has even in her youth to come to terms with the person that she is. Obviously, her sexual identity plays a large role in her life and how she views the people around her. During her childhood, however, religion became a huge factor in the way she acted publicly at school and the way she views her mother, the main perpetuator of religious belief in the household. In the novel so far, Jeanette’s mother’s personal beliefs latch onto Jeanette’s, whether its about the neighbors, the way she interprets school assignments, or who she spends her time with.

The concept ‘that no emotion is the final one’ could easily apply to the contradiction between Winterson’s sexuality and her mother’s parenting, specifically in connection with Christianity. Winterson may have made the allusion to the Bible to show how she really came to realize her sexuality and other intimate things about herself that really make her who she is. In the way that the Bible influences her mother’s life, her mother influences her. Her mother has clearly found a lot of purpose through religion, and Winterson could have found her purpose through discovering the many intricate parts of her identity that’s separate from her mother’s, like Tetrahedron’s many faces.

Winterson-

Leviticus:

‘What does exist lies in the sphere of your own hands.’

I searched the story of Leviticus in the Old Testament and it’s basically the section about instruction on how to be “Holy” and how one should carry themselves and what to do to “live a holy life.” I think about how the word “Queer” means abnormal/unique and was used to shame members of the LGBTQ communities back in the day for being “different,” “wrong,” and “not normal.”

I think about the story of the prince who was in search for the “perfect woman” and the fact that the prince was the only person who could define perfection. It makes me think about our Eurocentric-heterosexual-patriarchal society and how Western and European countries were the ones to define what is “normal,” “correct,” and wildly “accepted.” This caused males, whiteness, heterosexuality, and Protestant religion to be the most praised identities that give people privileges and recognition. I think that the prince in this story represents our societies that try to define what is “perfect” and how one should live their lives “correctly.”

But the “perfect woman” in the story says ‘What does exist lies in the sphere of your own hands.’ I think that speaks to people who identify as part of the LGBTQ community. I think the woman is saying that “perfection” does not exist– in other words there is not set of rules to determine how people should live their lives. She is recognizing that everyone is different and everyone has flaws, but our flaws are what make us unique. I think she is saying that it’s better to be unique and accept yourself and your truth, than to try to constantly live up to socially constructed ideas of “right” and “wrong.” The woman is saying that if you are constantly trying to seek this perfection, you will die and never have it because it does not exist. Only who you are and your identity is perfect for you, that is your perfection. This connects to Audrey Lorde’s saying that “your silence will never protect you.” All these things are talking about accepting and loving who you truly are and to stand up for yourself and not let people out you down because you are not what society defines as “perfect.”

http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/about/

2. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/oct/20/jeanettewinterson

3. https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/jeanette-winterson

4. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/adrienne-rich

5. https://newrepublic.com/article/132117/adrienne-richs-feminist-awakening

6. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/audre-lorde

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seems to me that two questions at the beginning of the stanza express the doubt and prejudice of Rich against herself and her work. The fact that she uses her personal experience as writing material, as many writers have done, suddenly becomes the source of inquiry. She asks herself if writing about her love life is a normal thing to do, or such action is so uncommon that only an alien creature would do.
“What kind of beast would turn its life into words?
What atonement is this all about?”

At first, she is confused about the purpose of her writings – whether she writes to compensate for something that she did wrong or not. But then, she realizes that in the process of writing, she is actually being true to her feeling; she writes not only to meet her own need but also to reflect the truth and to evoke real moments of life on the page.
“—and yet, writing words like this, I am also living.”

Rich also brings into question the impacts of her writings on others. She thinks of the waves of sound from wolverines’ howl that are so strong that they change the flow of the wind. This line is the metaphor for her hope that her pieces can alter the situation that lesbian poets have to face, and that her words are influential enough to touch the souls of readers. However, she admits that rather than focusing on topics that she really cares about, she instead distracts herself by writing about topics of less significance to her. She also wonders if she takes advantage of her lover the same way that she uses trees and wars as writing subjects to hide her true writing passion.
“am I simply using you, like a river or a war?

So what is the problem that makes Rich constantly question whether she is being close to the truth or not? What change does she hope would occur? Maybe, as she said, the freedom of expression is what she is looking for. Individuals, regardless of their social background, should have a chance to be heard, respected and should have equal right to spread their words. I have a feeling that the “desecration” is the metaphor for the brutal of mistreatment. The dream of having a universal language between poets are worth fighting for, because female poets minority group are discriminated for their race, their sexual orientation, their socio-economic class, and so on. The same message shows up in Gloria’s advice to writing: “ Feel your way without blinders. To touch more people, the personal realities and the social must be evoked – not through rhetoric but through blood and pus and sweat.”