Jeanette’s childhood Essay

Jeanettes boorhood was much the same as Celies in the sense that it lacked a heterosexual relationship she could be influenced by. Jeanettes p bents arent shown to be in love in fact they are hardly shown being together. When Jeanette asks her m another(prenominal) why she married her father, she replies not astir(predicate) love but about their responsibility to amaze a child and dedicate it to the lord(P. 10). Just like Celie, this lack of a kind parental relationship may have lead Jeanette to becoming a homosexual, as she hadnt been exposed to any real love in the midst of a man and a woman.Throughout the two raws, neither main(a) character has a airless relationship with a male. Instead, they find furnish with other wo men. The fact that Jeanette never has a close relationship with a man can give us hints to her inevitable sexuality, as she is not sexually attracted to them, shown when she tried imagining him without his clothes on. Horrid. (P. -), expressing her disgus t of the male body and oecumenical uncongeniality of men. Throughout Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, she has a close relationship with a woman from church, Elsie.When Jeanette is sick in hospital, her mother rarely visits because she is busy, but Elsie comes every single day to yield me smile(P. 29). This, as well as the fact Elsie sticks by Jeanette even after her lesbianism is revealed, about seems to the reader that they have a parent/daughter relationship, where Elsie looks out for Jeanette and keeps her hale through hard times Jeanette said and my confidence restored (thanks to her)(P. 30). Their closeness lasts until Elsies death.Her friendship and experiences with Mrs Jewsbury introduces Jeanette to homosexuality, which is a key turning point in the novel and can be seen to have had a huge impact on Jeanettes sexuality. Like Jeanette, Celie shares closeness with women rather than men. While Jeanettes distaste of men is more passive and subtle, Celie is hateful and wary of men because of the expression shes been treated by them. She lived in a time when men dominated the social hierarchy, so all the women had to stick together.This is shown when Celie meets Sofia, who has six brothers and pentad sisters, and says all the girls stick together (P. 39). Its a possibility that Sofias words inspired Celie to find confidence in other women kinda of suffering alone, because it is after this that Celie develops a close relationship with Sofia and Shug Avery,. The quilt Sofia and Celie make acts as a metaphor to show the power women can have when in numbers and the things they can achieve.Both Nettie and Mr. __s sister, Kate, tell Celie You got to press(P. 17 and 21) to encourage her, and Kate says you deserve more than this(P. 20), which helps Celie discover self-importance-worth and gives her the confidence to get out Mr. ___. Kate shows Celie she is not alone, and the new dress Kate buys for her symbolises Celies newfound refuge with other women and the start of defining herself as a new, stronger person.Celie also seeks shelter from Shug, who she spends roughly of the novel admiring, and Shug takes on the responsibility of feel after her and introducing her to the idea of self-worth, empowering Celie as a woman. Their relationship is a major influence for Celies sexuality, scorn the fact critic Trudier Harris calls it The height of silly romanticism1, implying it is unrealistic. I differ with this, as I think their relationship is more sisterly than romantic, shown when Celie says we ease like sisters me and Shug (P. 124) emphasizing how closely theyve bonded. It is definitely not silly when looking at how much Celie gets out of their relationship, including redefining herself, questioning the word around her and discovering self worth, as stated before.Walker and Winterson both foreshadow the future lesbianism of Celie and Jeanette in various ways through symbolism and particular events. Jeanettes lesbianism is hinted p assim the book, one example being the banana bar she is offered by the lesbian shopkeepers.