From America to My Kitchen.

I think it is easy to argue that the apple is only known for its negative symbolism. But, they are also positive things associated with the apple, which I mentioned in my last post. I believe the apple is a contradictory symbol that changes meaning according to gender. In Carol M. Counihan’s Food and Gender: Power and Identity, she also identifies this contradictory nature of food and gender:

Despite the disparity between the positive/negative representations of the apple, I still think that it cannot truly escape its underlying image of being an icon of sin and temptation. Evidently, the tree that God warned Adam and Eve against was called the “Tree of Knowledge”, and even though wisdom/knowledge is seen as a positive thing, too much of it can lead to corruption. (Think of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the theme of dangerous knowledge as an example). When I was doing research on John Chapman, I read through Micheal Pollan’s The Botany of Desire and found this relevant quote:

This image is an example of how the apple cannot really escape its past. The inclusion of the Snake with the apple on his head alludes to the original biblical depiction.

I hope you enjoyed learning about the representation of apples, and if you’re interested in looking at how they are represented in other cultures look at this link! I am going to have a go at making a 'forbidden' apple crumble... As you guys know, I challenged myself to make an apple crumble and can proudly say, I have done it!I owe my accomplishment to this video:

Kate instructs you step by step through the process in such a conversational manner that you almost forget you’re baking! Time flies by and before you know it you're watching the crumble in the oven like a hawk. So why an apple crumble? Because apple crumbles are a type of nostalgic dessert that make me think of lazy Sundays after a roast, where shoving spoonfuls of custard laden crumble both comforts and keeps the horror of Mondays away. Justin Picardie brings this nostalgic food moment to life in Daphne:

References

Counihan, Carole, and Steven L Kaplan. Food And Gender. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1998. Print.

Picardie, Justine. Daphne. New York: Bloomsbury, 2009. Print.

Pollan, Michael. Cannabis, The Importance Of Forgetting, And The Botany Of Desire. Berkeley, Calif.: Doreen B. Townsend Center for the Humanities, 2002. Print.

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Nothing More Delicious.

In my first blog post I asked myself this question: Why is the relationship between apples and women problematic within art, literature and poetry? We are going to attempt to answer this question, using what we have learnt from my previous posts. The beginning image of the apple and its association with the Garden of Eden becomes "the guiding myth of Western culture"(Tamar and Moran, 1). This image carries such strong negative connotations, that it manages to resonate itself through the Snow White story, with the same implications. The apple seems to stand for sex and the loss of innocence, which becomes a problematic aspect when women are involved. This is because women are 'supposed' to embody qualities of denial and self-control, yet these principles are unfair because they have been constructed by a patriarchal and oppressive society. On the Victorian Website, under the subheading Hunger as an Instrument of Self-Control and Self-Denial, I found this useful quote:

If we read the apple as a way of revealing the anxieties associated with a certain discourse, we can certainly say that the discourse in query is one that revolves around femininity (representations of female gender roles) and sexuality (the profound fear of female sexuality and the potential consequences of indulging in desires). In the case of Eve and Snow White, the apple motif manages to materialise this fear through their eating of the fruit. They are punished for their appetites. For example, Eve’s punishment for “eating Death” (9.792) means that she can never return “to a state of pre-lapsarian innocence” (Ward, 38). While, Snow White’s consumption “serves as a vehicle for a more potentially disturbing issue — in this case, sexual maturation from girl to woman”(Victorianweb). This is shown in the ending of the story, where Snow white will marry and assume her role as a respectable woman. I believe the relationship between food and women in general is difficult and impossible to sustain, because the “desire for food is often confused, in particular, for sexual desire” (24). Looking at food alongside sexuality restricts and oppresses a woman, who can only be seen as good for not eating, and bad for not eating. In other words, haunted by the dynamic of the 'fallen woman' and the 'angel in the house'.It is interesting to note in art, the representation of apples and women are also indicative of sexuality/sin, while the depiction of apples and men are indicative of positive things… Take a look at these paintings and let me know what you think!

References

Victorianweb.org,. 'Food And Famine In Victorian Literature'. N.p., 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.

Ward, Mary. The Literature Of Love. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print.

Wilkins, John. Food In European Literature. Exeter, UK: Intellect Books, 1996. Print.
Heller, Tamar, and Patricia Moran. Scenes Of The Apple. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003. Print.

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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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