Oranges are not the only fruit

Question 1

quote that shows the Manichean outlook of Mrs Winterson

Answer 1

“She had never heard of mixed feelings. There were friends and there were enemies.”

“she was in the white corner and that was that”

Question 2

what does this quote show?
“she followed a star until it came to settle above an orphanage, and in that place was a crib, and in that crib, a child. A child with too much hair”

Answer 2

• mythic quest that resembles the quest of Christ.
• “And” replicates the narrative technique of the Bible.
• “too much hair” twists austere style to question the nature of narratives and fictions
• it also represents attempt to rewrite a classic book in her own style,
• suggests that no text actually represents truth. texts are subjective representations of reality

Question 3

how do fundamentalist christian views reflect ideas expressed in Deuteronomy

Answer 3

• believe “the bible states the truth without error”, “every sentence is true and correct”
• winterson makes us question its legitimacy “fishiest of fish tales”
• dominated by the male voice

Question 4

contemporary views about marriage and sexuality

Answer 4

• marriage is between one man and one woman

- homosexuality is a sin

Question 5

manichean fundamentalist christian view that is manifested in mrs w

Answer 5

christians go to heaven and everyone else goes to hell

“there were friends and there were enemies”

Question 6

fundamentalist christian view that is manifested in J’s exorcism

Answer 6

• if a member of the church act in a way that contradict their dogma, it is the community’s responsibility to force the member to admit sin and ask for forgiveness

Question 7

synopsis of genesis

how does this link to the bible story?

Answer 7

• book of creation, origin story

- start of J’s life, how her mother tries to mould her to be a missionary

Question 8

synopsis of exodus

how does this link to the bible story?

Answer 8

• Israelites escape from Egypt, live in new land
• end of chapter, J’s feelings of displacement when she’s forced to leave home and go to school
• contrasts w Israelites who accept “strange notions” (concepts that don’t conform to Church’s beliefs) without problem

Question 9

synopsis of leviticus

how does this link to the bible story?

Answer 9

• jewish laws

- mothers doctrines dictating L’s life and so J’s life

Question 10

synopsis of numbers

how does this link to the bible story?

Answer 10

• wandering of the Jews in the wilderness
• J tries to navigate her way through a world in which marriage is supposed to be sacred yet married women find no joy in it
• becomes to come into her sexuality and meets Melanie (falls in love)

Question 11

synopsis of deuteronomy

how does this link to the bible story?

Answer 11

• last book of the law in the Bible, W gives it this subtitle (only one to have one)
• v short, personal reflection, not part of the narrative
• time, storytelling vs history, fact/fiction
• chapter reflects purpose of deut: reiterating most imp. themes in bible so far

Question 12

synopsis of joshua

how does this link to the bible story?

Answer 12

• leader Joshua keeps ppl safe bc of his faith in God over Hi military skills
• militaristic way church deals w J’s homosexuality, believe their words show Gods word
• W learns she must be true to herself, tricks those around her w false statements, admits homosexuality is a sin, repents to satisfy them

Question 13

synopsis of judges

how does this link to the bible story?

Answer 13

• Jewish people rebelling against God and being continually punished by him, lacking strong leadership so don’t act in their best interests
• W returns to church and acts rebelliously (true to herself and sexuality)
• leaves church and is forced from her home

Question 14

synopsis of ruth

how does this link to the bible story?

Answer 14

• few instances when women are at the core of stories in the bible
• Ruth chooses to remaron w her mother in law after her husband’s death and to adopt religion
• though J can’t stay w her adoptive mother after finding her sense of self and rejecting L’s beliefs, calm reconciliation w L that fits the mood of Ruth

Question 15

quote to show the anonymity of j’s father and the subversion of gender roles

Answer 15

• in mrs w’s eyes “never quite good enough”
• My father liked to watch the wrestling…
• “her husband” – noun suggests separation, lack of importance to family, dismissive tone.
• but can challenge patriarchy – presented as Mrs W’s possession, ultimate matriarch.

Question 16

quote to show the indoctrination of religious and heteronormative dogma in contemporary society

Answer 16

“She would get a child, train it, build it, dedicate it to the Lord”

• heterosexual expectation bound within religious doctrine

Question 17

quote to show the stigma attached to lesbianism

Answer 17

• 2 women who own paper shop:“She said they dealt in unnatural passions. I thought they put chemicals in the sweets.”
  – contrast of knowing, adult, judging voice, with J’s innocence – underscores the taught prejudice by church vs reality
• even an innocent child, can fall from
  blessedness and become “a house of demons.”
• pastor in front of congregation “fallen under satan’s spell”

Question 18

quote to show the hypocrisy of the church

Answer 18

• mrs w is manifestation of its manichean nature
• enemies “sex in its many forms” but book of “old flames”, repressed female sexuality, lesbian tendencies in heteronormative setting

Question 19

quote to show the restrictive confines of marriage and heteronormativity

Answer 19

• women state they were married to “pigs” and “beasts”

“Sometimes he was blind, sometimes a pig, sometimes my mother, sometimes the man from the post office, and once, just a suit of clothes with nothing inside.”

• next door “the strange noises, like cries for help” also j’s unhealthy upbringing regarding sex

Question 20

quote to show repressed female sexuality

Answer 20

• mother’s conversion “v romantic”
  princess metanarrative
• “great energy”, in fairytale

Question 21

what does w’s spiral narrative show?

Answer 21

• metanarratives are allegorical manifestations of J’s desire to escape from her own self-imposed limitations on her identity

Question 22

how do the woman who shopped and oranges connect

Answer 22

the woman and J both are shunned by society for not conforming to heteronormative expectations, prioritise their own desires as women

doesn’t prioritise the “groom”, )
- Allusion, Ovid’s Metamorphoses (terrible fates exacted on overreaching, aspiring mortals)
- ‘stone hair’, birds ‘shriek’ -> classical harpies
- present punishable ‘sin’ that offends the gods
her own desires:
Image of prostitution- welcomes/anticipates being the vehicle of an obscene capitalist ceremony - the desecration of her own body.

J shunned by society for prioritising her sexuality over satisfying her church’s dogma

Question 23

how does the long queen, history and oranges connect?

Answer 23

“Her flesh now sprung from her head” – an allusion Zeus eating his wife and child – Mrs W as an overbearing megalomaniac, breaks gender norms

Question 24

Perfection meta narrative significance and quotes

Answer 24

“without blemish inside or out, flawless in every respect.”
- no success, goose says prince modify expectations, chops off head.
- writes book on perfection: only way world can be
saved from corruption is producing “world full of perfect beings.” woman not interested, head cut off bc didnt conform
- prince said he “stamped out a very great evil

Question 25

Evidence of J’s deterioting relationship with her mother and increasing sense of self

Answer 25

“What is it about intimacy that makes it so
very disturbing?”
“She burnt a lot more than the letters that night.”
“to distinguish the chalk circle from the
stone wall … a wall for the body, a circle for the soul,”

Question 26

Evidence of J’s increasing sexual awareness

Answer 26

• two women owning paper shop “Unnatural Passion”
• women refer to husbands as “pigs”, fairytales where women marry “beasts”
• feels embarrassed around “necking” couples as taught that sex is sinful
• eventually comes to own conclusion that women can choose to be with other women

Question 27

How is lesbianism referred to by the church

Answer 27

• “fallen under Satan’s spell”
• Finch uses the no.7 to preach how quickly innocence can become “a house of demons”
• Miss Jewsbury as predatory yet protective, J “hated and hated” it when they had sex yet couldn’t stop.
  Something she hated at the time yet eventually accepts

Question 28

The Church as militaristic, manipulative

Answer 28

• Melanie as “bovine”

- “wax figures”

Question 29

Princess meta narrative significance and quotes

Answer 29

“So sensitive that the death of a moth could distress her for weeks”
Saved by a hunchback such says she has “great energy and resourcefulness”
Both J and L have highly sexual natures and try to hide them

Question 30

L’s controlling nature and lack of emotion towards J

Answer 30

• “get a child, train it, dedicate it to the Lord”

- deafness L: “a state of rapture” “this child’s not full of the Spirit…she’s deaf” said Mrs J

Question 31

Tetrahedron meta narrative significance and quotes

Answer 31

• “a palace made absolutely from elastic bands” J’s creativity, imagination separates her, like her homosexuality

Question 32

J’s deterioration of her relationship with the church

Answer 32

“Now I was finding that even the cl rich was sometimes confused