Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit Blog #3

This chapter was interesting because it mostly revolved around the idea of perfection and how Jeanette had her first “theological disagreement” (Winterson, 133). A lot of the chapter involves a story about a prince looking for his perfect woman and it made this chapter feel a little different. In Jeanette’s story, the Prince tries for years to find his perfect bride, but when he does, she tells him that perfection isn’t what he thought it was and that by different, we can all be perfect for each other. I found this to be an interesting tale that Jeanette created because she creates her own version of perfection which differs from the version she hears in church. In the end, the Prince kills her, which I found to be unexpected, but it definitely makes the Prince feel much more evil than he was previously in the story. Ultimately, the woman had a more mature and complex idea of perfection, which angered the Prince. Given that I’ve read from other students that Jeanette comes out as a lesbian later in the book, it seems right that the woman in Jeanette’s story has the right answers, while the Prince has a simple and child-like idea of perfection. Also, in the interview I watched with Winterson, she mentioned Frankenstein heavily, which I think she mentions at the end of this chapter. After the Prince kills the woman, another man gives the Prince a book about a man with bolts in his neck, which must be Frankenstein’s monster. While I haven’t read Frankenstein, there are connections between him being an imperfect person to the theme of perfection in this chapter. 

After thinking about this connection to Frankenstein, I decided to read a short summary online and make comparisons to Jeanette’s story, so I will be focusing on that brief scene in the end and its imagery. Victor Frankenstein wanted to create a perfect being so he made one from parts of dead people. But instead of the creation being perfect, it turned out to be a monster that was very imperfect and scary to many. Frankenstein’s monster is angry at his creator, so he acts violently out of rebellion, yet he is also kind and compassionate when needed. It seems like Frankenstein is also very much about perfection and how we are all imperfect and finding perfection is impossible. Victor Frankenstein himself was imperfect because he wanted to play God and create life, while the monster was physically ugly and violent. Since Victor Frankenstein wanted to create perfection and failed, it seems like a message of the book is also that perfection is impossible and we should be satisfied with being imperfect. This lines up with Jeanette’s beliefs as she disagrees with the church’s idea of perfection. Since Jeanette is a lesbian, she is not “perfect” according to the church, yet in her own definition she is because she is different from others. From this short connection, we are able to learn more about Winterson’s meaning when she writes about perfection. Knowing that she is a big fan of Frankenstein made the ending of this chapter more meaningful.