Jeanette Winterson

Oranges are not the only fruit

Just from reading the title the intelligent reader can find it totally different from ordinary novels. The title "Oranges are not the only fruit" seems to suggest that other fruit are better and it creates a curious situation. The novelist also adopted the traditional arrangement of the Bible to organise her book. Right from the first chapter the intelligent reader can understand the reasons why the arrangement of the book is closely connected to the contents of the novel. In the first chapter, Genesis, Jeanette Winterson narrates her early years when she was adopted. The chapter told about her origins like the first one in the Bible, to tell the truth Genesis means creation.

Jeanette analyses the figure of her mother in the chapter: a very active woman, obsessed by religion. As a consequence also Jeanette life is conditioned by religion. Her mother wanted to find a missionary child whom she could train to be a servant of God. So Jeanette was the chosen girl. Right from the first lines the intelligent reader can notice the irrelevant figure of Jeanette's father, character without importance in the novel.

The second chapter is called Exodus:

the biblical book of Exodus contains the story of the flight of the people of Israel from Egypt.

The Exodus chapter in Oranges are not the only friut deals with similar themes of flight.

On the most obvious level, Jeanette is finally able to flee the physical and ideological confines of her small home. By heading to school, Jeanette becomes exposed to ideas that are not those of her mother's.