Jeanette Winterson's novel Written on the body

Concrete

The gender and the name of the narrator in Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body is not explained to the reader in a clear manner. However, despite this lack of information, there are still character traits about the narrator which can be ascertained in the text. For example, the narrator has at some point both a male lover, Bruno, and a female lover, Louise indicating that they are bisexual. In discussing his or her relationship with the male Bruno, the narrator also explores their relationship with religion. After seeing the narrator's understanding of religion and his or her own level of belief, the reader can ascertain certain indications of the narrator's larger personality.

At one point in the novel, the narrator talks about how they decided to go to church one Sunday. He or she says, "Not because I wanted to be saved, nor because I wanted solace from the cross. Rather, I wanted the comfort of other people's faith" (Winterson 150). This indicates several things about the narrator; first and foremost that the narrator was reared in the Christian faith. It is likely that the family in which he or she was raised was a Christian one; it is also possible the narrator was introduced to Christianity at another point in time. Whichever is the case, the fact is that in the narrator's present, the character does not believe in Christianity. He or she does not believe in the Bible or in the stories that are told by members of the clergy. However, he or she sees something of value in the beliefs of others. It is as though the narrator is creating their own religion, if indeed the purpose of religion is to inspire and entreat others to do rightly. The church is a symbol of childhood and simplicity for the narrator, rather than being a religious entity.

The narrator further separates him or herself from the religious community by sarcastically commenting on people who are religious. At one point the narrator is inside the church but wants to leave and finds the exit blocked by a farmer. In response to the minister's declarations of God's powers, the narrator calls God a wrestler, a body builder, and most interestingly a rapist. This is in response to the minister's saying, "Jesus will have his way with you!" (Winterson 152). Obviously, the minister meant nothing related to sex and definitely not anything to do with nonconsensual sex. In this scene of the book, the narrator is defining themselves. Already they have explained that they or not religious and only go to church to watch others. However, at this time church has become a kind of prison. He or she cannot leave the church because of the farmer at the door. Because of this the narrator resorts to this childish game of intentionally misinterpreting the minister. There are two ways to interpret this. Either the narrator is so far removed from religion that he or she simply cannot listen to the minister without their sarcasm coming into the situation or they are using sarcasm as a buffer between themselves and the message that the minister is trying to relate. If it is the former situation then this says a good amount about the narrator: that they are primarily sarcastic and devoid of feeling. If it is the latter, then this shows that the narrator is not as tough and detached as he or she would like others to believe and has to put on a front of disbelief as a form of self-insulation. Unwilling to walk past the farmer makes it seem that the second solution is the more likely one because if the narrator truly was uncaring, then they would be able to walk past the farmer without concern.