The not-so-forbidden fruit
Is there a greater symbol of
autumn than the apple? Well probably, but it’s autumn now and apples are in
season, providing a stream of sun-flecked joy into our fruit bowls, pockets and
lunchboxes. For surely apples are one of
the most delightful fruits to eat. There is perhaps no greater satisfaction
than that of biting into an apple and discovering that it is both crunchy and
sweet. Cue triumphant fist pumping, smacking of lips and quick and noisy
consumption. And does it not also feel satisfyingly primal (and somewhat sexy) to
eat an apple straight off the knife?
Perhaps this is due to the fact
that the apple is an ancient fruit, thought to have been cultivated as far back
as 3000BC, and brought
to England by the Romans. Quintessentially British, the apple has been
consumed by generations and generations of our ancestors, a food for the poor
and rich alike, eaten in largely similar ways: baked, stewed or straight off
the tree. Personal bias aside, there really is something superior about the
British apple, thanks to our general state of damp and drizzle, causing the
flavours to mature over time. Cheap,
tasty and plentiful, the apple is engrained in our diet and culture; for many
of us it is the first solid food we eat (perhaps an explanation for the instant
comfort of an apple crumble) and we keep coming back for more, in ploughman’s
lunches, pies, stuffing and more.
Apples are also something of a survival food –
going on a long journey? Feeling hungry? Not to worry, you packed an apple,
that’ll see you through. After all, they kept sailors alive on long voyages,
and staved off the Pevensie children’s hunger in Narnia. Apples gained
the reputation of being something of a cure-all, and though an apple a day keeps the doctor away may
seem a somewhat antiquated phrase to us now, the concept still seems to hover
vaguely in our communal subconscious. For in our society the apple represents still good
health (think how often they are used to advertise dentists, diets and doctors’
surgeries) reminding even the most
reticent of fruit-eaters that it’s probably worthy having one every now and
then, just in case.
The apple is thus so much more
than just than a lunchbox-filler; it is a crucial symbol in western society, rendered
special by its very commonality. In ancient pagan society it was a symbol of
love and fertility, whereas in a Christian society, when fatally underestimated
by Eve and Snow White, the apple has
come to represent temptation, sex and a form of divine knowledge. (These
symbols still remain in modern literature: consider, for example, the use of
the apple in the Twilight Saga and its promotional
material.)The apple’s very power lies in its seeming innocuousness – for what
could be threatening, dangerous or powerful about an apple? Sadly, and perhaps
predictably, in Christian literature it seems that women have fallen foul of
the apple’s powers, while history shows us men who have wrested apples to their
own use. Isaac Newton, for example, who used the apple to unlock the secrets of
the planet, and, more recently, Steve Jobs, who took the most common fruit
imaginable and turned into a multi-billion dollar brand, which is apparently worth
more than Switzerland. According to one
website, the instantly-recognisable Apple logo ‘effectively represents innovation, techno-supremacy and
authenticity.’ Which is saying something
for the fruit that many of us find rotting in the back of the garden in
September.
If the apple really symbolises
all the knowledge in the world (including all the sex and naughty stuff) then
it is perhaps no wonder that Hollywood has made eating an apple seem like the
most nonchalant of activities imaginable. A scene of a man (note, not a woman) eating
an apple means confidence, intelligence, arrogance and a certain cheekiness. Consider some modern examples: Indiana Jones, Captain
Kirk, Draco Malfoy, Captain Jack Sparrow – all of them stand there munching and
grinning, as if to say “check me out guys, I’ve got all the knowledge in the
world. And I’m totally cool with it.”
 |
| madetoberuled.tumblr.com |
 |
| thenerdpirates.com |
It seems the forbidden fruit
really does taste the sweetest after all.
I'm on Twitter! Follow me @Spotted_teapot
I'm on Twitter! Follow me @Spotted_teapot
