Introduction

In the present paper, it is my purpose to expose and analyze the challenging and the subversion of fundamental conventional roles in the novel by Jeanette Winterson, and in particular, the role of the mother and of the daughter. To begin with, I intend to start by examining how the role of the mother is presented in the novel, which, although at first glance may appear typical to the reader, in fact is not. In other words, the mother in the novel does not possess the conventional characteristics that ideally form a mothers character. Such characteristics are constructed by the society and are considered to function as indications of how good or how bad a mother is. Hence, the next step will be to meticulously examine how these characteristics are undermined by the narrator by employing various techniques. As regards the second part of my paper, I purport to delve into the role of the daughter, that is, how it is depicted in the novel. As with the mother, Jeanette initially conveys the impression of the typical daughter who follows unquestionably the rules and the examples set by the family. However, that is not the case, since we will see that see challenges the institution of the family and rejects notions and ideologies that she does not give credence to and which she considers to be imposed on her by the social institutions. Last but not least, I will explore the relationship between the two women as it is displayed in the novel, how it is altered as the years pass and the daughter grows up and how it is influenced by the different ideas and credos that each person maintains.

The Mother
The family is considered to be one of the most fundamental institutions since it is responsible for the proper upbringing of the future generations. Nevertheless, the role which is mostly considered to be of the utmost importance as regards children is that of the mother. The mother in the novel however, does not appear to possess any of the qualities that are conventionally considered to be attached to her role but is rather the opposite of an ideal mother figure. Jeanettes mother is introduced to us from the very first chapter of the book as having a dualistic view about the world. She can only see things as black or white, as good or bad, always in a binary opposition without believing in mixed feelings (3). Anything that contradicts her dogmatism and her rigid religious belief is instantly thought as repelling, which also foreshadows her behaviour towards her daughter when she learns she is a homosexual. However, Jeanette undermines her mothers religious notions by employing humour and irony to compare her with the Virgin Mary and by narrating her mothers story of conversion as a result of an erotic attraction for the Pastor rather than the existence of any spiritual revelation (8). What is more, in contrast with the common belief that mothers are self-sacrificial and have maternal instincts, Jeanettes mother appears quite the opposite. She adopts Jeanette not because she wants to become a mother but as a means to re-invent herself after reaching a dead-end in her life, that is, for purely egotistical reasons. Her child would function both as a savior for her and a religious vocation since she intends to make it a missionary. Furthermore, one may say that the mother functions as an Ideological State Apparatus (Althusser 1477) that is, a societal mechanism for creating pliant, obedient citizens who practice dominant values (Althusser 1477) which however does not function in an explicit way but on the contrary, functions implicitly appearing to be natural. In other words, the mother tries to impose on Jeanette a certain ideology which is in accordance with her own. Hence, she tries to make her conform to the societal expectations and norms so as for the status quo to be sustained.

Moreover, we can detect that the mother fails to cater for her child and neglects it. A case in point would be the incident where Jeanette loses her sense of hearing and her mother does not even notice (24-30). In fact, she defines deafness as a sign from God that Jeanette is full of spirit (25). Jeanette here questions the role of the mother and her narrow-mindedness and undermines it by employing ironic style and by suggesting a better mother figure, that of Miss Jewsbury. Miss Jewsbury provides for Jeanette tenderness, understanding and consolation that her mother fails to give her. The mother is also presented in the novel through Jeanettes stories in order to be questioned and her beliefs to be subverted. A good illustration may be found in the perfect princes story where the narrator goes against societal expectations (59-65). The prince represents Jeanettes mother and the princess represents Jeanette herself. Jeanette here not only undermines fixed identity by representing her mother by a male figure and thus, suggesting that there is gender fluidity but also questions the princes absolutism in perfection and therefore, her mothers dogmatism. Finally, Jeanettes mother is presented as the dominant family figure assuming household roles conventionally attached to male (Bentley 109). For instance, she has taken on the responsibility to build a bathroom (16) which conventionally is not considered a female responsibility but rather a male one. What is interesting though, is that Jeanettes mother seems to also have a prominent position within her religious circle, which is unusual for a woman, but at the same time she acknowledges the patriarchal system and society. Hence, she is a gatekeeper of patriarchy and so, in a sense, masculine in outlook despite her female sex (Makinen 31). Jeanette here undermines prescribed attitudes and roles based on gender classification.

The Daughter
Jeanette Winterson does not only subvert the conventional role of the mother, but also the role of the daughter. To start with, children so as to conform to certain societal expectations need to possess some basic qualities. These qualities include having a good attitude, being obedient to their parents wishes, being good students, and not to transgress boundaries but follow instead the status quo rather than disrupt it. However, Jeanette in the novel disrupts every conventional expectation we might have as readers. Jeanette already from an early age had a subversive imagination. For instance, she re-enacts a biblical scene but not in the given, conventional way, which implies not only that she was resourceful and imaginative but also that she did not accept anything given (12-13). She had to question everything. Moreover, she employs humour as a means to criticize and challenge the others, such as Pastor Finch and in general the dogmatism that such figures possess, and the way she was brought up. In other words, by undermining religious figures and the religion itself she also undermines herself as she was raised to believe unswervingly to that absolutism. What is more, Jeanette represents herself throughout the novel via some stories. Nevertheless, her representation differs from story to story. A case in point would be her representation as a princess (58-65) and her representation as Sir Perceval (127). In the first case, she goes against the readers expectations, making a revision of the classic fairytale, portraying the princess as being bold and refusing to marry the prince claiming that its not something I am very interested in (61). In the second case, she disrupts the readers expectations and the societys as well, by being represented by a male figure. The reason why Jeanette employs different genders to be represented is to suggest that there is no fixed identity. According to her, we can acquire different roles since identity is fluid and there are no gender binaries. In addition to that, Jeanette questions sexuality and after an inner struggle she assumes another sexual identity from the given one. She describes her first experience with love in the face of Melanie. Their first encounter is neither romantic nor what the readers would expect since they meet in a fish shop (78). Hence, Jeanette by disrupting the readers romantic expectations, emphasizes difference, and challenges

the norms by demonstrating the erotic attraction between the two women as legitimate. Finally, her inner struggle is symbolized by the orange fruit and the orange demon. Quite ironically the orange was the fruit that her mother was obsessed with as the only fruit, symbolizing her dogmatism and her inability to acknowledge difference. Nevertheless, Jeanettes lesbian identity is symbolized by the orange demon and as a consequence the use of the same colour in both instances signifies the disintegration of the differences between heterosexuality and homosexuality and thus, the disintegration of these two binaries. Jeanette persists in her choice as she does not find anything unnatural in it (86) by proposing a notion of sexuality that goes beyond these opposite binaries and by trying to make the readers conscious of the fact that it is society that tries to shape our identities in a fixed way.

The Relationship between Mother and Daughter

As far as the relationship between mother and daughter is concerned, it is a very complex one. Their relationship gradually alters throughout the years as Jeanette grows and starts wanting to forge her own identity which is different from the prescribed roles for women. In the beginning of the book, where Jeanette is young, her relationship with her mother is very good as we can say she is a paradigm of a child. She follows her mothers advice, does not question her and considers her a very important person in her life. However, when she grows up and matures, she realizes that not everything that her mother taught her is correct. She starts to comprehend the dogmatism and the absolutism that her mother exhibits, values that Jeanette cannot acknowledge as correct and thus, she rejects them. The rejection of these values that her mother possesses, create a clash between the two women. On the one hand there is the mothers dualistic and absolute view of things and on the other hand there is Jeanettes challenging of these binary oppositions and proposal of a relativist view. As a result Jeanette feels oppressed by her mother who tries to impose on her a certain identity, and even practices exorcism on her as a means of purifying her from the evil spirit that her mother thought she must possess her due to her unnatural behaviour. The home stops signifying sanctity and security as her mother does not seem to accept the identity that Jeanette forges for herself. Nevertheless, Jeanette never stops hoping that her mother will accept her one day as she is. This is mainly illustrated through the story of King Arthur and sir Perceval where the latter represents the mother and the former the daughter. Sir Perceval (Jeanette) feels pain as he leaves King Arthur (mother) and the Round Table, which may represent the womb of the mother. In this story, Jeanette through these characters shows her dilemma of wanting to extract herself from her mother while hoping that her mother will feel major loss and will finally accept her. At the end of the book we cannot really understand if the mother accepts her daughter as she is or if she is just indifferent towards her. However, we do know that Jeanette has accepted her identity and is grieved to see that absolutism still dominates her mother and the society. For instance, although her mother admits that after all,

oranges are not the only fruit (167) which may imply that she has opened her horizons and accepted difference, she then replaces oranges with pineapples showing a rather narrow, limited understanding of difference. Therefore, their relationship is not really a typical relationship of mother and daughter since there is no mutual understanding between them and acceptance of difference.

Conclusion
It is quite obvious by now that the characters of Jeanette Wintersons Oranges are not the only fruit are not at all conventional and that they do not follow the status quo but rather choose to disrupt it. The mother throughout the novel instead of being a typical loving mother is indifferent and negligent towards her daughter and exhibits a dogmatic and absolutist point of view which is very limited and does not allow her to accept anything that is not in a binary opposition. Hence, she is unable to accept that her daughter chose to forge an identity outside of the prescribed attitudes. Jeanette also exhibits an unconventional behaviour from the very beginning of the book, showing early signs of her subsequent choice of a different identity. She rejects all dogmatic values and monolithic views imposed on her by her mother and religion and embraces difference instead of social expectations. As a result of the different point of views of these two characters, their relationship is characterized by constant clashes that finally lead Jeanette to accept the fact that she is different but because of that she will never be truly accepted by her mother, who continues being indifferent towards her daughter and maintaining her absolute credos.

Works Cited
Althusser, Louis. Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001. 1480-1508. Print. Bentley, Nick. Contemporary British Fiction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008. Winterson, Jeanette. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. Great Britain: Vintage, 2001. Print. Print. Makinen, Merja. The Novels of Jeanette Winterson. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Print.