Oranges are Not the Only Fruit Chapter 7: Judges Summary & Analysis

Summary

A quote from the Queen in Alice in Wonderland precedes all events in the chapter, "Now I give you fair warning, either you or your head must be off."

Jeanette's mother has told her to move out of her house because of her evilness. Jeanette wonders why loving the wrong sort of people is a sin. People say that Jeanette is imitating a man, but Jeanette does not think so. She remembers a time when a male couple came to the church. Her mother suggested that one of them should have been a woman. Jeanette thinks that this is ridiculous since a man is a man and a woman is a woman. Jeanette knows that she still loves God and her church, but will no longer become a missionary.

The narrative switches to the myth of Sir Perceval. He has left the comfort of King Arthur's court to find the Holy Grail. King Arthur misses him. The round tale at Camelot has a tree growing from its center, but the table is empty. The light from the halls of the castle appears gone.

Katy and Jeanette go away to Morecambe and stay at the Guest House for the Bereaved, even though they are not actually grieving. They carelessly leave their door ajar one night. Someone spies them through the door. The next day the owner of the Guest House, the former treasurer for the Society, questions Jeanette. Jeanette lies and says that her old friend Melanie had been in her room last night. The woman believes Jeanette and does not blame Katy. The woman posts a letter to Jeanette's mother and Jeanette leaves the next morning.

Jeanette's mother is furious when she gets home. She calls the pastor who arrives and proclaims that the demons have returned sevenfold. Jeanette sees oranges by the windowsill and offers them to her mother and the pastor, both of whom decide that she is raving with her evil demonology.

The pastor and the church decide that Jeanette has experienced sexual confusion because her many church responsibilities made her believe that she belonged in a man's role. The pastor notes that Saint Paul believed women who have a limited role in the church. The pastor orders that Jeanette give up teaching Sunday school and preaching.

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