Role of Women in Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit Essay -- Oranges Are N

Role of Women in Oranges Are not The Only Fruit In the novel Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, by Jeanette Winterson, most of the important, decision-making, characters are female. Jeanette, the female protagonist, is greatly influenced by her mother, a strong, overbearing, eccentric woman, and by Elsie, a prominent member of the family parish who becomes Jeanettes only virtuoso and closest confidant. Elsie and Jeanettes mother act as polar forces in Jeanettes life, with the mother encouraging suppression of unholy or unnatural feelings and thoughts, and Elsie encouraging expression of feelings and pass judgment oneself for who one really is. Jeanettes mother, referred to by name only once in the novel, is probably the second most important character in the book, outdone only by the protagonist herself. She acts not as a role model, but as an example of what not to become, of a lifestyle to reject. Throughout the book, Mother encourages suppression of feelings she defines as unholy by way of personal example and by her attempted repression of Jeanettes homosexuality. An...