Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit: 7. Judges Summary & Analysis

Jeanette’s mother wants her to move out of the house. She claims that Jeanette makes her ill, makes the house ill, and has brought evil into the church, and tells Jeanette that her decision to kick Jeanette out is backed by the pastor and most of the congregation. Jeanette does not immediately reveal what has transpired, but knows that she is in deep trouble, and that “there [is] no escaping this time.”

Jeanette takes her Bible and walks up the hill with her family’s beloved dog in tow. Jeanette considers the fact that she “love[s] the wrong sort of people”—namely, she engages in romantic love with other women. Her mother has accused her of “aping men,” but Jeanette considers that statement far from the truth, to say the least—she embraces her own womanhood and retains her childhood distrust of and disdain for men. Jeanette reflects on how, after her exorcism, she continued to love God and the church, but began to see that love as increasingly complicated. Jeanette reveals that she has abandoned all plans to become a missionary, no longer willing to devote her life to the service of the church.

Jeanette launches into a tale of Sir Perceval, the youngest of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, who has just set out from Camelot. King Arthur has begged Perceval not to go—the quest he is setting out on is no ordinary one, but the Knights of the Round Table have all left their King’s hall, and the Round Table is “almost [a] symbol now.” There is a stone that holds a bright sword, but no one can pull it out. King Arthur sits on the steps of his castle staring at the Round Table, which is decorated with every plant imaginable. At the center of the table is a sundial and a thorny crown. Arthur thinks of the past, “when there were lights and smiles,” and misses Sir Perceval.

Katy and Jeanette recently spent a week together at their church’s guest house in the village of Morecambe. Jeanette has been careful throughout the course of her relationship with Katy, keeping any letters that have passed between them in her locker at work so as to avoid suspicion. However, excited by the prospect of a week alone together, Katy and Jeanette were foolish and careless on their first night in Morecambe; they left the door unlocked, and while the two made love in bed that night, someone peeked in with a flashlight and caught the two of them together before quickly disappearing. Jeanette promised Katy that she would think of something to get them out of it, and devised “the most fanciful [plan] of [her] brilliant career.”

At breakfast the next morning, the two girls are summoned to the office of one of Jeanette’s mother’s friends, who had once been the treasurer of the Society for the Lost. The woman demanda the truth. Jeanette spins a story in which her affair with Melanie had never really ended, and says that after months and months of heart-rending correspondence with Melanie, Jeanette had begged Katy to help her arrange a meeting with Melanie in Morecambe. Jeanette’s mother’s friend believes her, and Jeanette’s plan works—the ex-treasurer doesn’t want to bother Katy’s parents with the explanation, so Katy is left unpunished and undiscovered, while all the blame is forced onto Jeanette, who doesn’t want the church to “start the demon stuff” up with her beloved Katy. Jeanette packs up and prepares to go home after spending one final, tearful afternoon with Katy at the beach.

At home, the scene is “incredible”—her mother smashes every plate in the kitchen before calling the pastor and ordering Jeanette straight to bed. From her bedroom, Jeanette can hear her mother downstairs, praying for the Lord to send her a sign. When the pastor arrives, Jeanette hears the two of them talking in low voices, and is almost asleep when they both appear upstairs in her bedroom. The pastor stands away from Jeanette’s bed as if she is “infected,” and explains to her that she is the victim of a great evil. The pastor proclaims that Jeanette’s demon has returned “sevenfold.”

Jeanette’s mother wails in agony, then begins blaming Jeanette for giving in to her own perversity. Jeanette’s mother and the pastor argue between themselves whether Jeanette is a victim or a wicked person, and Jeanette listens, bemused. Suddenly, seven ripe oranges drop down onto the windowsill, and Jeanette asks her mother and the pastor if either of them would like an orange. Jeanette’s mother proclaims that Jeanette has gone mad, but the pastor insists that it is Jeanette’s “master” speaking through Jeanette—meaning the Devil. The pastor, stating that Jeanette’s case has become too difficult for him to manage, instructs Jeanette’s mother to keep an eye on her, ignore her raving, and let her continue attending church. The two leave Jeanette in peace, and she stares for a long time at the oranges, realizing she is going to “need more than an icon” to get her through this latest trial.

The next day, Jeanette attends the Sisterhood meeting at her church. It is the first time Elsie has been in attendance for a long while. Elsie knows what is happening, but holds Jeanette close and comforts her, and discreetly invites her over for a cup of tea after church. As the meeting begins, the other women become hysterical each time they meet Jeanette’s eye, and everyone is relieved when it’s finally over.

After the meeting Jeanette goes to Elsie’s, who reveals that Miss Jewsbury has moved to Leeds, is teaching music, and is “not living alone.” Elsie confesses to Jeanette that it was she who told Miss Jewsbury about Jeanette’s affair with Melanie. Elsie laments having gotten sick and being forced in and out of the hospital, telling Jeanette that she would have “sorted [both her and Melanie] out” had she not fallen ill. Jeanette hugs Elsie and the two of them sit by the fire, not talking about much of anything. Jeanette is grateful to Elsie for having given her the gift of an ordinary evening spent with a friend. Jeanette leaves, and Elsie tells her to come back whenever she needs to.

The next few days pass by “in a kind of numbness,” and Jeanette is hyper-conscious of the fact that the entire congregation seems to be scared of her. At service on Sunday, the pastor announces that the root of the problem in the church has been allowing women congregants to have power, and he announces that women will no longer be allowed to preach in their church. There is an uproar, but Jeanette’s mother stands up and speaks out in support of the pastor’s decision. Jeanette’s mother goes on about how Jeanette has spurned the call to missionary work and has wielded “inappropriate” power on the home front. Jeanette’s mother speculates that Jeanette’s lesbianism is the result of her taking on “men’s work.”

Suddenly, a voice cries out that all Jeanette’s mother has said is a “load of old twaddle.” Jeanette turns around and finds that it is Elsie who has spoken up. Elsie dissolves into a coughing fit, clearly agitated, and then falls over. Jeanette runs to the back of the church to help Elsie, but the others hold her back. While some members of the congregation bundle Elsie in her coat and help her home, the pastor approaches Jeanette and demands she give up all preaching, Bible study teaching duties, and any “influential contact.” He also tells Jeanette of his intention to subject her to a “further more powerful exorcism” followed by a two-week banishment, alongside her mother, to recover by the sea, once she has agreed to his terms and begun to repent. Jeanette tells the pastor she is tired, and heads home.

The narrative switches over to the story of Sir Perceval, who has been wandering in the woods for many days. He can see the tracks of other knights who have tread this path. He seeks a ruined chapel, which lies “disused and holy” somewhere in the woods. Last night, he dreamed of the Holy Grail moving toward him ensconced in a beam of light. He reached out to touch it, but when he awoke his hands were full of thorns. Tonight, he dreams instead of Arthur’s court, where he was the King’s “darling.” Perceval dreams of his old friends, but knows that they are all now dead. He dreams of King Arthur sitting despondent on a stone step, holding his head in his hands. Perceval reaches out to embrace King Arthur, but wakes up clutching a tree covered in poison ivy.

The next morning, the pastor comes to Jeanette’s house for tea. He asks when he should book her and her mother for their “holiday,” but Jeanette does not answer. Jeanette tells the pastor she refuses to go—she is leaving the church. The pastor and Jeanette’s mother beg her not to leave, and even offer to let her continue teaching Bible study under supervision. Jeanette refuses. The pastor at last asks Jeanette one final time if she will repent, and she tells him she won’t.

The pastor and Jeanette’s mother retreat to the parlor for half an hour, and then the pastor leaves. Jeanette’s mother tells Jeanette that she has to leave—she will not allow demons in her house. Jeanette protests that she has nowhere to go, but her mother tells her that “the Devil looks after his own,” and pushes her out of the house.

On her last morning at home, Jeanette empties the trash and walks the dog. Jeanette cannot imagine what will become of her. She is surprised to find that this last day at home does not feel like judgement day, but rather like just another morning.