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And so it was that on a particular day, some times later, she followed a star until it came to settle above an orphanage, and in that place was a crib, and in that crib, a child. A child with too much hair.

This quote from Chapter 1, "Genesis," describes the adoption of Jeanette in terms that compare her to Jesus Christ. This imagery is important because throughout the plot Jeanette will embark on a mythic quest that in some ways resembles the quest of Christ. The imagery and the style also is important because it mimics that of the Bible. The star over Jeanette's crib can be compared to the star of Bethlehem. The long sentence starting with "And" replicates the narrative technique of the Bible. Here the narrator twists this generally austere style by saying finally that the child that was found was "a child with too much hair." This comedic touch is not consistent with a true biblical tone, as its content gently pokes fun at the biblical style. As Winterson tries to question the nature of narratives and fictions, it also represents her attempt to rewrite a classic book, the Bible, with her own style. In the act of rewriting, Winterson suggests that no text, even ones considered sacred like the Bible, actually represent truth. For Winterson texts are representations of reality that carry a subjective taint due to the mere fact that they were created.

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