The Garden And Fruits Metaphor In The Written On The Body

Jeanette Snowson’s Written on the Body focuses on a love story that is told from the point-of-view of the genderless and anonymous narrator. “The selfnarrating character goes to great extents to hide their sex/gender, speaking in the firstperson and avoiding personal pronouns. Winterson uses fruits and vegetables as symbols to achieve this. The garden motif is both feminine and a symbol of joy. The symbol of fruit in the novel is a symbol of femininity as well as fertility. The many references to Adam/Eve, who lived in a ‘ultimate’ tree garden and ate the fruit of that tree, play into the garden and the fruit motifs.

Gardening is usually a hobby that is enjoyed mostly by women. There are many male gardeners. But the text emphasizes the importance of gardening to women. The garden is mentioned often by the narrator when they are happy, or used to incite happy feelings. The narrator returns to the apartment he shared with Louise and describes how he feels happy. We were happy here” (Winterson 163) This is clear. The garden is an exterior symbol of the inner happiness felt by the narrator. The narrator may be referring to the scene in the text above: “We were quiet together after our love.” We watched as the afternoon sun fell across the garden. The shadows from the early evening created patterns on the white walls. It’s very possible that the narrator refers to this instance of contentment in a garden. The narrator recounts a nightmare that he had: “I awoke, sweating and chilled…I went into the yard, glad of sudden underfoot wetness.” (Winterson 40). The garden is used by the narrator to comfort himself and to make him feel happier than his nightmare, which was terrifying. Another symbol is when the narrator refers to the cottage by saying, “I cut some Winter jasmines from the ragged gardens and brought them indoors” (Winterson108). Although the narrator intended to bring joy to the cottage’s drab exterior, the results were not what he expected. The narrator explains that it looked more like a nun living alone in a slum than a cottage. (Winterson 110). This statement implies that the jasmine in the cottage looks strangely like the nun. One scene shows the narrator using the garden as a way to attain happiness. He says, “I took [the letter] into the yard and burned them one after another and I thought how easy and difficult it is to forget the past” (Winterson 17). The narrator is not experiencing a positive response immediately, but simply uses the garden to get to a happier place. The novel shows the same situation again, with the narrator referring to a relationship. “Most buds have worms.” You worry, you spray, and then you wait for the sun to shine through. The flower will bloom naturally and no one will notice its ragged edges. Jacqueline and I were on my mind. I wanted to tend to them” (Winterson 28, 28). In a desperate situation, the narrator turns to gardening and flowers to help him feel content. However, gardens can also be symbolic of fertility and femininity. This is a fascinating point as both the fruit and the gardens have gendered attributes that give gendered meaning to the narrator. Winterson 91: At one point, the narration states that the “pomegranate… [is] the] fruit from the womb”. This is important as the narrator acknowledges that fruits have gendered characteristics. “[Louise] split one pear; one from her garden,” (Winterson 36). Another feminine fruit is the pear. Pears are often used as symbols of female sexuality. This is usually due to their shape. The pear’s rounded section appears to visually depict a woman’s hips or bust. The same shape of the pear can be used as a symbol for phallic purposes. The pear can be considered a fertility symbol, although it does not gender the pear like a male. Other phallic fruits are also mentioned in the novel. “Playboy regularly features tales about asparagus, bananas and leeks,” the narrator says (Winterson 36). A banana is a phallic fruit because of its shape. The narrator mentions the same thing a few pages later. These phallic symbol serve to undo the fruit’s gendered feminine attributes. The male and female qualities of the fruits work in tandem, leaving the narrator without gendered attributes. The narrator may have both male and feminine characteristics, but it is possible to argue that this is true. Jennifer Smith explains that Jennifer Smith isn’t able to say without hesitation that the narrator isn’t unambiguously aligned in any way with either gender. However, the narrator has the ability to be at the opposite end of the spectrum.

This novel includes several references to the Biblical story of Adam & Eve. It also features the themes of fruit and gardens. The Garden of Eden is commonly referred to as the place of ultimate happiness and paradise.

The Lord God created a garden in Eden that faces eastward, where He placed the man He had made. Every tree that is edible and pleasant to look at was made by the Lord God out of this ground. The tree of Life was also found within the garden.

The Garden of Eden, which is believed to have been an apple, is where Eve was able to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The serpent was smarter than any other beast in the field that the Lord God had created. The serpent then said to his wife, “Has God not said, You shall not have any fruit from the garden’?”. God knows that it will make your eyes open, and make you wiser. Her husband also received the fruit, which she shared with him (Gen. 2.1-6).

The novel’s narrative explains, however that “some say that pomegranate were the apple or Eve” (Winterson 91). This is highly plausible. The narrator also says that the pomegranate is the apple of Eve. “I want to cover myself with fig leaves now” (Winterson 18-9). This happens after Adam has eaten the forbidden fruit.

They saw they were naked. So they sewn fig leaves together and made covers. Adam and his partner hid themselves among the trees, hearing God’s voice. The Lord God called Adam to ask him, “Where are you?” He replied that he heard His voice in the garden and was afraid of being naked. So, he hid himself among the trees. (Gen.

The novel’s tie ins to the story of Adam, Eve, and the Garden of Eden are well-suited to the many other references that the novel makes to fruit and gardens.

Written on the Body serves many purposes. The garden motif is an external symbol for internal happiness. The entire motif, which includes the fruit, serves to keep the narrator genderless and reveal some interesting symbolism. These two themes are not accidental. The garden and the fruit motif can both have their own characteristics. In fact, gardens represent femininity, fertility, and it is clear that the narrator enjoyed fruit. Interesting details are also provided by the novel’s references of the Garden of Eden. These motifs offer a deeper glimpse into the complicated character of Written on the Body’s Narrator.