Elsie and Her Mother in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
In a story of a young girl coming of age and finding her sexuality in a very religious community, it is key to have a female figure that plays a key role for the character. A mother should play the key role but what happens when this role is confused with a very spiritual role? Where will a young girl turn to when her life goes against the rules society has set for her?
Jeanette has lived a sheltered life with no influence on her except for the church. Her mother is a strict Christian with a deep resentment for things and people not within her fold. Being brought up in a society where going against the norm is a sin. A society that shakes its head at acts of individualism and shuns those they can not convert to their way of thinking. In effect, a cult based on a long -standing text, the bible. In this cult though, Jeanette finds a kindred spirit that doesn?t fit the mold set by this religious society.
Elsie is an older woman who believes in God and all of his wonders. ??Listen to what the Lord has done for me this week.? She needed eggs, the Lord sent them. She had a bout of colic, the Lord took it away.? (Winterson, p. 23). Even for her strong belief in God and all of His glories she is considered an eccentric. She practices numerology, creates unusual crafts and is outspoken. This personality is what attracts Jeanette. Elsie is so unlike her mother and the other women of the congregation and this fact pulls Jeanette closer to Elsie. Jeanette looks to Elsie for guidance and an understanding ear that doesn?t judge her harshly.
On the other hand Jeanette?s mother is an extreme personality. This personality is not seen as eccentric, it is seen as a trait that she is a true believer and follower of the Lords word. Religion is her way of controlling things in an otherwise confusing world. Within this circle of believers she can control the people around her with out anyone questioning her.
Her power is not seen as going beyond the limits. It is seen as a sign that this is her true calling and that she is a messenger of God. Also, Jeanette is not a child she wanted to love and care for. Jeanette was a child she adopted so that she could mold another solider for God. ??She would get a child, train it, build it, dedicate it to the Lord: a missionary child, a servant of God, a blessing.? (Wint...
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...n gave up on her. Through Elsie she learned that society classifies everyone and to live outside those classifications is not a sin. That just because she is seen as different to certain people she is still normal to others. Elsie?s friendship was the
start of Jeanette?s backbone. She grew from that friendship and realized strengths within herself other then the religious aspects.
Jeanette?s mother gave her something even more valuable. She gave her the strength to find her sense of self. By making Jeanette face that she wasn?t a person who fit into her mold of a religious person, she made Jeanette go out an seek her real identity. Even when she was confronting Jeanette and punishing her, she was making her stronger, a better person then herself.
Even though both women are strikingly different, they share key qualities. Both women had something in them that brought out the good in Jeanette. All be it, that Jeanette?s mother?s way was harsh and Elsie?s was gentler, it was the same outcome. A women who is true to herself and knows how and why she is who she is.
Works Cited:
Winterson, Jeanette. Oranges are not the only fruit. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1987.
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