Go on. Go on, have a bite.

While the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale Little Snow-White is legendary, it’s somewhat a controversial tale that we would now think was not originally intended for children. Disney’s popularized version of the story released in 1937, is the story we are all familiar with.  For those of you have not watched that version, here is the link to a brief synopsis of it.

As I read through the original Grimm Brothers’ story, I realized there was a lot more things that the apple could symbolize. Food (in the form of an apple) in this story explores issues with women, desire, motherhood, self-control and most bizarrely, cannibalism. I know this sounds very strange and I am sure I have got most of you to think of Hannibal Lecter, but let’s not get too distracted! Cannibalism is quite a common trope within food literature, especially with relation to consuming the female body. There is an intrinsic focus on the edibility of the female body, which we see often objectified and ‘consumed’ by an evil predator (think of Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel,). Let’s take a look at examples of cannibalistic appetite in Snow White:

Yes, you read that correctly, the queen wanted to eat Snow White’s heart, but why would she want to do that? We can see why this part of the story was removed from Disney’s version, because it is far too grotesque and unsuitable for a young audience. In Kiss Sleeping Beauty Good-Bye, Madonna Kolbenschlag suggests: “when the wicked stepmother devours what she believes to be Snow White's (vital organs), she recaptures a primitive cannibalistic expression of envy: the belief that one acquires the power and characteristics of what one eats” (36).  These characteristics are beauty and youth, which the Queen fears she is losing the longer Snow White stays alive. 

Now, let’s get back to the subject of apples – poisoned apples.  The Queen creates an apple that “[is] beautiful to look upon, being white with red cheeks, so that anyone who should see it must long for it, but whoever [eats] even a little bit of it must die”(Grimm Brothers, 5-6). The apple’s edibility is similar to Snow White’s own identity, she too is beautiful and everyone that she encounters longs for her in some way or the other. In the previous passage, the huntsman thinks Snow White’s beauty is ‘lovely’ enough for him to pity her, and spare her life. This is the same for the seven dwarves, who are angry when they find their house has been intruded, yet when they realise the intruder is Snow White they quickly change their mind: “O goodness! O gracious!” cried they, “what beautiful child is this?” and were so full of joy to see her that they did not wake her, but let her sleep on”(Ibid, 3).

In our Literature and food class last week, we looked at Margret Atwood’s Edible Woman. There is a moment in the text where the protagonist (Marian) describes herself being watched as she sleeps by her partner, Peter. In the context of the novel, there's a suggestion of a predator prey relationship between the two characters. Now I am not saying the seven dwarfs are predators, but the fact they stare at her with a longing because of her beauty, certainly shows us the ways Snow White is edible. This idea is emphasized in the final parts of the Grimm Brothers’ story. Snow White initially says no to the Queen’s offer, but the Queen urges her on: “Are you afraid of poison?” said the woman, “look here, I will cut the apple in two pieces; you shall have the red side, I will have the white one” (6). The Queen’s consumption of the ‘white’ side of the apple mirrors her cannibalistic desire to consume Snow White. This is completed when Snow White eats from the ‘red’ side, which subtly hints Snow White’s loss of innocence. This is the same loss Eve experiences. Overall, the apple is again negatively symbolised. The consequences of eating from this fruit causes Snow White's momentary death.

References:
Atwood, Margaret. The Edible Woman. New York: Anchor Books, 1998. Print.

Kolbenschlag, Madonna. Kiss Sleeping Beauty Good-Bye. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1979. Print.

(Little Snow White, can be read here for free)

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Apples vs Figs.

 You are probably wondering why there is an image of fig in this second post, but rest assured, this fig plays an important part of understanding our precious apples. We all believe that the ‘forbidden fruit’ is an apple only because art and literature has successfully helped fill in the blanks Genesis left out.  The unnamed fruit from the tree of knowledge could have been anything: a strawberry, a cherry, a peach or even a fig, which many critics have argued is the true forbidden fruit of Eden. In Food at the time of the Bible, Miriam Vamosh agrees the fruit is a fig, because both Adam and Eve use fig leaves to cover their naked selves in Genesis 3:7. She argues figs are the fruit “which they [have] eaten... the very thing by which they [are] corrupted by"(51). If this is the case, why do apples replace this representation? I decided to do a taste off between the two fruits, to draw my own conclusions on which fruit would be symbolically better suited for the Garden of Eden. 

In the fresh fruit section of Sainsbury’s there is a wide range of apples: granny smith, pink lady, and golden delicious, royal gala and Braeburn apples. For this taste test, I chose Braeburn apples. The apple is a rich red colour and has streaks of light green running through it. Its skin is smooth and it smells refreshing, and closing my fingers around the fruit is easy because it is round. When I bite into the apple, it sweet yet subtle spicy taste fills my mouth.  The figs however, are quite limited in this particular store, so I was only able to get the standard Evita variety of figs which are grown in South Africa. The fig is a deep purple and much smaller than the apple. Its skin is smooth, but firm and feels like leather. The fig smells earthy and bland. When I bite into the fig, its sweet yet subtle acidic taste fills my mouth. I think the apple is better suited to being the forbidden fruit because of its sweeter taste, colour and shape. The extract below taken from Erika Janik’s book Apple: A Global History also draws on this:

(Page, 32).

Janik also suggests another reason the apple is chosen is because "the Latin word malum means both ‘apple’ and ‘evil’ ”(31). This interpretation makes sense because the fruit becomes a metaphor for sin, which in the eyes of God is seen as the ultimate evil. The 'evil' the apple may be referring to certainly has something to do with anxieties over female sexuality, because Eve's appetite and her choice of eating becomes a metaphor for desire. I will be examining this more in my third post apple lovers, so stay tuned for more!

References:

Janik, Erika. Apple. London: Reaktion Books, 2011. Print.

Vamosh, Miriam Feinberg. Food At The Time Of The Bible. [Nashville, Tenn.]: Abingdon, 2004. Print.

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Hath God not said Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

We all know about one of the most significant food moments ever written. Eve is tempted into eating the forbidden fruit that comes from the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil’. She takes a bite from the luscious apple and asks her partner Adam to share it with her, despite them both knowing that God told them not to eat this particular fruit. This consequently causes their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. As a result of this food moment, the apple acquires negative connotations and becomes an icon of temptation, sin, sexuality and the loss of innocence. But if we look closely at the bible, it does not actually say the fruit is an apple, which makes me wonder: how does the apple come into the equation? Even though the apple is not named, it still manages to stand for the dominant image of temptation and more importantly, giving into temptation.

This food blog will be looking at the positive and negative connotations associated with apples. I also want to look at the origins of this fruit. I will also touch on issues related with feminine identity and why apples have become symbolic of female sexuality. I also want to challenge myself to make one apple based dessert (an apple crumble).I will be looking at a range of literary texts, artwork, the media and cookbooks throughout my blog, to draw discussions from. I hope you guys are ready for the adventure I am about to take you on!

These are some of the questions my blog will attempt to answer:

Why are apples known as the forbidden fruit? (Obviously because they are so tasty)
What are the negative/positive representations of apples?

Why is the relationship between apples and women problematic within art, literature and poetry?

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