Sexing the Cherry
Sexing the Cherry (1989) is a novel by Jeanette Winterson.[1]
Set in 17th century London, Sexing the Cherry is about the journeys of a mother, known as The Dog Woman, and her protégé, Jordan.[2] They journey in a space-time flux: across the seas to find exotic fruits such as bananas and pineapples; and across time, with glimpses of "the present" and references to Charles I of England and Oliver Cromwell. The mother’s physical appearance is somewhat "grotesque". She is a giant, wrapped in a skirt big enough to serve as a ship’s sail and strong enough to fling an elephant. She is also hideous, with smallpox scars in which fleas live, a flat nose and foul teeth. Her son, however, is proud of her, as no other mother can hold a good dozen oranges in her mouth all at once. Ultimately, their journey is a journey in search of The Self.[citation needed]
Sexing the Cherry features elements of magical realism and can be said to contribute to the promotion of the "Other" in the literary world.[clarification needed]
Sexing the Cherry is a postmodernist work and features many examples of intertextuality. It also incorporates the fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.
References [edit]
- ^ Brackett, Mary Virginia; Gaydosik, Victoria (2006). Companion to the British Novel, 18th and 19th Centuries. New York. p. 383. ISBN 978-0-8160-6377-2.
- ^ Farwell, Marilyn R. (1996). "The Postmodern Lesbian Text: Jeanette Winterson's Sexing the Cherry and Written on the Body". Heterosexual Plots and Lesbian Narratives. New York [u.a.]: New York Univ. Press. pp. 168–194. ISBN 978-0-8147-2640-2.
