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Oranges are not the only fruit

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a debut novel by Jeanette Winterson published in 1985, which she subsequently adapted into a BBC television drama of the same name. It is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian girl Jeanette, raised by adoptive parents in an English Pentecostal community. Key themes of the book include transition from youth to adulthood, complex family relationships, same sex relationships, and religion.

In England and Wales, it has been included on both GCSE and A Level curricula, such as the OCR English Literature A Level, Literature Post 1900.

Background
The book is semi-autobiographical and is based on Winterson's life growing up in Accrington, Lancashire. "I wrote about some of these things in Oranges, and when it was published, my mother sent me a furious note." A parallel non-fictional account of her life at this time is given in her 2011 memoir, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? Although the protagonist of Oranges bears the author's first name, John Mullan has argued that it is neither an autobiography nor a memoir, but a Künstlerroman. The story line closely follows the personal life experiences of Jeanette Winterson; however, the use of fairy tales and allegorical fantasies disorders the realist narrative and makes the readers ambiguous about what is fiction and what is real. Winterson merged the concept of realism and fantasy in this novel, undermining the traditional notion that opposite genre cannot be put together. This novel narrates Jeanette's life accounts from childhood to maturity closely examining her character development, identity crisis, and education. Hence, it could also be called a Bildungsroman.

Plot
The protagonist is a girl named Jeanette, who narrates  her own story starting from when she is seven years’old. She is brought up in London by her adoptive evangelists parents from the Elim Pentecostal Church. Jeanette’s mother Louie is a fundamentalist Christian who wanted a child in a sexless way and thus, she adopts Jeanette with a sole purpose of training her for a missionary life dedicated to God. Consequently, Jeanette’s childhood is immersed within the church and its routine. When Jeanette is seven, she catches an illness, resulting in misdiagnosis of which, she goes deaf. Her mother believes that Jeanette is in a “state of rapture” and denies her medical cure. Only after being forced by a neighbor Miss Jewsburry, Jeanette’s mother takes her to hospital. During Jeanette’s stay in hospital, she develops a close friendship with Elsie Norris.In school, Jeanette often feels outcast due to her evangelical beliefs and biblical articles. As she grows up and explores her own conscience and viewpoints, Jeanette finds that the notions imposed on her by the church and her own ideas do not always align. She begins thinking about romance and questioning about relationships.

At the age of fourteen, Jeanette meets a girl named Melanie. They form a friendship and Melanie also joins the church Jeanette goes to. Eventually they fall in love and form a secret lesbian relationship. When Jeanette shares this with her mother in confidentiality, her mother is displeased. It is when Jeanette learns about the truth of her adoption. Melanie and Jeanette are accused of sinful ungodly relationship by the church and obliged to repent which Melanie obeys, but Jeanette is reluctant to conform. Jeanette flees the church and takes refugee at Miss Jewsburry's, a secret lesbian herself. Her and Jeanette have a sexual relation that night. The elders of the church find Jeanette the next day and challenge to "exorcise the demons" off of Jeanette by praying over her whole day and locking her in the dark parlour without food or water for thirty-six hours. Jeanette believes that she has the right to love both god and Melanie at the same time, but unable to face the brutal punishment, she pretends to repent.

After Melanie leaves, Jeanette engages herself in the church again and accepts the position of a preacher and a Sunday school teacher. During one of her church missions, Jeanette comes across a newly converted christian named Katy, for whom she develops feelings for and eventually unfold romance with. When Katy and Jeanette's truth is discovered by the church, Jeanette claims it is pure and refuses to call her relationship a sin. This time, she takes full accountability of who she is, leaves the church for good, and pursues her own life. Jeanette faces some hardships surviving until she finds a job in psychiatric hospital. Fast forward many years, Jeanette decides to visit her parents one Christmas. She reunites with her mother who tells her of the corruption and scandals that ruined her church. Jeanette's mother is still a believer, but does not ask Jeanette to give up her lifestyle this time. The story ends with Jeanette and her mother listening to the missionary reports on the radio.

Major Characters
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit has females characters centric to the story, whereas, the few male characters are demeaned with mockery.


 * Jeanette- The main character of the story, Jeanette is an outspoken,strong and confidant character. Neither the ostracism she had to face in her school, nor the hatred she received from church for her sexuality could bring her down to self doubt. She believes that her sexual orientation makes her "special" and proudly accepts her homosexuality.
 * Jeanette's Mother (Louie)- Jeanette's mother is a middle-aged dogmatic woman who holds power in both her household and the church. She strongly adheres to her Christian beliefs. She is shown domineering as she forcibly imposes her beliefs on Jeanette and other characters. She is at times, selfish, provocative, and judgemental about the society beyond her church.
 * Jeanette's Father (Jack)- Jeanette's father is portrayed opposite of his wife. He is easy-going and sympathetic. Although mentioned in the story, Jack is more often that not, an absent character.
 * Elsie Norris- Elsie Norris is a balanced, yet absent-minded character. She shares her knowledge of music, art, and literature with Jeanette and is a guardian figure for Jeanette. She holds a pragmatic views on religion and accepts Jeanette as she is.
 * Melanie- Melanie is Jeanette's first love. She craves for deeper understanding of beliefs and hence, goes onto studying theology. Regardless of her brief lesbian romance with Jeanette, she conforms under the church's principles and later gets married to a man. She is an ambiguous character.
 * Katy- Katy maintains a strong friendship as well as romantic relationship with Jeanette for a long term. She is empathetic and kind. She plays an important role in Jeanette's life because it is with her help, that Jeanette can thoroughly accept her lesbianism.
 * Miss Jewsbury- Miss Jewsbury is a homosexual woman not afraid of the church and its rules. She is referred to as "not holy" by the church members. Her determination can be seen when she ensures that Jeanette gets medical treatment by going against Jeanette's mother.

Major themes and Symbol

 * Religion- Religion is an integral part of the novel as Jeanette and her mother's lives are often determined by fatalistic and evangelical religion. Even though Jeanette grows up serving the church and its beliefs, the very same church becomes a place she wants to run away from. Religion control can be identified in the story in terms of Jeanette's mother's forceful upbringing and church's unacceptability of Jeanette's orientation. Homosexuality, also termed demon, is considered opposite of evangelical values. The chapters in the novel are named after the first eight books of the Bible. The story begins with Jeanette talking about her biblical upbringing, and ends with Jeanette and her mother listening to religious news on the radio.
 * Identity- All characters in the novel are subject to their personal quest to figure out their identity and reason for being. Jeanette not only struggles for acceptance in school when she is a devoted missionary, she is also disowned for her Homosexuality. When Jeanette finally accepts herself as she is, she is determined to stay true to herself and face any hurdles come what may from the society. In her quest of understanding herself, Jeanette draws upon male characters from fairy tales and biblical myths like Daniel, Jesus, and Joshua to explain herself in the male dominated society. Jeanette's mother simultaneously tries to be perfect in her faith. She is often marginalized as a result of her faith. She forces her beliefs on her daughter and is determined to establish herself strongly in the church.
 * Sexuality- Sexuality is the central theme of the novel. There is a spectrum of ideas about sexuality presented by various characters over time. Jeanette is torn between the normality of the society and her sexual deviance. Sexuality becomes the cause of her liberation from the rigorous church as well as the reason for her breaking ties with her mother. Jeanette, Miss. Jewsbury, and Katy are one set of characters trying to fight for their right to lesbianism whereas Jeanette's mother, church members, and pastors are another set of people strictly against Homosexuality. At the same time, there are weak characters like Melanie who adhere to society's rules against their personal identity as well as liberal minds like Elsie who accept people for what they are. An Orange is used as a symbolism for sexual identity inferring that being straight is not the only possible orientation, and that Homosexuality or even bisexuality, could be as natural and fluid as Heterosexuality.

Allusion
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit draws upon the Bible, fairy tales, various novels, poems, and literary artists to solidify the theme of the novel. Oscar Wilde is praised for his works that challenged the literary orders of his time. Charlotte Brontë's friendship with Ellen Nussey is shown from a perspective of lesbian bond. Classic literacies Jane Eyre and Le Morte d'Arthur are used to balance the snag caused by the beliefs of Bible in her life. After leaving home, Jeanette experiences city life and odd jobs which she compares to Sir Percival's journey to find Holy Grail.

Adaptations
A television adaptation of the book was made and aired by the BBC in 1990, starring Charlotte Coleman and Geraldine McEwan.

The book was released on cassette by BBC Audiobooks in 1990, also read by Coleman.

A two-part dramatisation, adapted by Winterton and starring Lesley Sharp, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2016.

Reception
The novel won Winterson the Whitbread Award for a First Novel in 1985.

Although it is sometimes referred to as a "lesbian novel", Winterson has objected to this label, arguing, "I've never understood why straight fiction is supposed to be for everyone, but anything with a gay character or that includes gay experience is only for queers."

The novel's adaptation into television drama Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (TV serial), received positive responses as well. It won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for a best drama as well as a Silver medal for the best script at Cannes Film Festival.

The television adaptation also won the Prix Italia in 1991.

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