From figs to grapefruits, from oranges to coconuts, we probably know dozens of kinds of fruits. In some cases, we may not even be able to identify them, or distinguish them from flowers or vegetables. This entry will examine the critical question of which kind of fruit is the most Gothic?
The apple was certainly not the fruit referenced in the book of Genesis; apples were unknown in Mesopotamia and the Near East. But ever since Christianity took root in Europe, the apple has been connected with original sin. Sweet and tart, refreshing and resilient, the apple offers us the ultimate variety in temptation, a sure path to Faustian downfall. Is the apple the most Gothic fruit?
The banana points to a different sort of Gothicism. The fetid jungles of Heart of Darkness and the desert oases of Vathek, the banana is quick to ripen and quick to decay; it has been overtaken and colonized and domesticated to lose its large seeds and feral appearance. Does the forced habituation of the banana make it the most Gothic fruit?
What about the tomato? Oh master deceiver! We would mistake you for a vegetable, with your viney home among the flowers and legumes, a deceptive ripe red austerity that hides your true watery colors as a vessel of passion, you Hester Prynnish fruit you. Is the tomato the most Gothic fruit?
Oh, I know, the pomegranate seems an unlikely candidate: after all, it is associated with Greece, and isn’t the Gothic usually discussed in opposition to the Neoclassical? Then again, so much of the Gothic evolved from Neoclassicism, like the Longinian sublimity of Ann Radcliffe’s writing. Plus, see how bloody and gory the pomegranate is on the inside? Is it the most Gothic fruit?
Finally we arrive at the point of no return: the deathly raisin! This desiccated grape was once the most coveted of fruits, a plump and juicy treat of intoxicating power. Now it is as withered and decrepit as Miss Havesham in her stained wedding dress. It has no life, and is almost one of the lingering dead. Why hasn’t it been buried or eaten already?
But this list is far from complete.
Come, share with me your own impressions. What do you think is the most Gothic fruit?
Deadly Purple Nightshade?
http://www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/plants/nightshade.htm
Blood Orange
I think that the cherry has got to have some gothicness. Remember the scene in The Witches of Eastwick, when cherries are used as a weapon by the witches to get rid of a nosy towns person? Wikipedia summaries the scene thusly:
“As time goes on, the witches’ continued presence at Daryl’s mansion leads to gossip that made the witches outcasts and consternation from the local townswomen who publicly snub Jane in a supermarket. Felicia in particular is incensed at the perceived immorality of their behaviour, but is dispatched in a particularly graphic scene by Daryl’s casting of a spell that causes her to vomit the witches’ discarded cherry stones; horrified and seeing her possessed, her husband was forced to kill her with a poker.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witches_of_Eastwick_(film)
I saw that movie as a child. To this day, if I’m peeved at someone and happen to be eating cherries, I think of that old spell and smile.
Good stuff, yes. I especially like the cherry as an idea, because it seems to come out of left field. What could be more innocent and innocuous than a sweet cherry?
DURIAN!!