WHY BE HAPPY WNHEN YOU COULD BE NORMAL

WHY BE HAPPY WNHEN YOU COULD BE NORMAL? By Jeanette Winterson Structure analysis by Valentina Indri

What is the book? It proposes some themes of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit(1985) It is a MEMORIE no cronological order emotional impact of the events. the narrator follows the It consists in 15 chapters Constance Winterson (adoptive mother) It is dedicated to 3 mothers : Ruth Rendell (contemporany novelist) Ann S. (biological mother)

Title of the book WHY BE HAPPY WHEN YOU COULD BE NORMAL? HAPPY AND NORMAL: TWO IMPORTANT WORDS The important theme of the ethernal pursuing of happiness The theme of escaping from the life imposed by other People ( e. g. Mrs Winterson’s evangelical pentecostal life)

Dedication It is dedicated to 3 mothers: • Constance Winterson, adoptive mother • Ruth Rendell, literary mother • Ann S. , biological mother Function of the dedication: make the reader understand people who have contributed to form Jeanette’s mind and personality

Tributes Their function to thank people who never abandoned the writer and help her to find the very happiness Susie Orbach: Jeanette’s girfriend since when the writer found her adoption papers in the effects of her dad Paul Sharer: tracer of Jeanette’s family tree

Chapter 1 q The Wrong Crib • Introduction of the main topic of the novel • Short description of Janette’s adoptive family Chapter 2 q My Advice To Anybody Is: Get Born • Description of Manchester, where the writer was born • Contradictions within the city capitalism massive spread between rich and poor people • Description of jobs of her biological family and adoptive one( with their living conditions and lifestyle) • Last pages—> them of pursuing the happiness

Chapter 3 q In The Beginning Was The Word • The importance of language and words • The problem is language • Religious texts as basis of Janette’s education and Mrs. Winterson’s thought Chapter 4 q The Trouble With A Book… • Changes the way you look at the woman • Regular vs secular • Rading view from two different point of view: from Janette and Mrs. Winterson • The importance to read a book for Janette Chapter 5 q At Home • Janette’s discomfort to live in her adoptive partents’ home • Books seen as “a new hause”

Chapter 6 q Church • Janette relationship with church and religion. Church is nother setting of Janette’s life. • Janette’s reflection about love Chapter 7 q Accrington • In the chapter J. Winterson tells about the small town in which she lived: she describes Accrington's shops and inhabitants. • Characters: J. Winterson and her mother. Chapter 8 q The Apocalypse • The title of the chapter refers to Mrs. Winterson's religion, the reflection about the idea of death and life and the discovery of J. Winterson's omosexuality. • In the chapter the novelist tells some episodes regarding to the love story between her and Janey and the Mrs. Winterson's disapproval. • characters: J. Winterson, her mother and Janey.

Chapter 9 q English Literature A-Z in this chapter: the importance of reading books where you can find a comparison, and particularly poetry. The passage of time does not wait and passes quickly. The effects of their actions (moving a pain does not mean it passed), the love that you receive and that is transmitted (reference to the mother). Importance of language especially that of books. Chapter 10 q This is the road in this chapter: the status of women during the industrial revolution. Unlike men, women, and the woman had to sneak in a lot of things, the man was the head of the family. Difference between the women of Manchester and the North. At that time was not accepted homosexuality. determination of the writer. Policy analysis in 45 years.

Chapter 11 q Art and Lies Jeanette Winterson creates a parallelism between art and lies. At the end of the chapter the writer tells about the piriod of her life spent in university, her point of view on literature and her mother’s opinions and thoughts. Chapter 12 q The Night Sea Voyage This title reminds the reader to something of dark and hard. The word «night» makes the riders think about darkness, silence, fear and mystery. The expression «sea voyage» is usually something of difficult, dangerous and troubled.

Chapter 13 q This Appointment Takes Place In The Past • The title: simbolical meaing of appointment between Jeanette and Ann, her biological mother. Takes place in the past, it probably refers to the moment in which Ann gave Jeanne for adoption, 50 years earlier. • Events: Jeanette, helped by Susie, is hardly trying to get some information to finally meet her mother. In order to do that, she has to struggle with laws, rights and thousands of papers. Eventually, she finds out her mother’s age when she got pregnant, a starting point which leads Jeanetts to discover her mother is alive. • Flashback: during the narration, the writers goes back to her past, to descibe the last moment’s of her dad’s life, telling what happened when the reunioned at Christmas. • Quotations: the novelist quotes Anne Sexton’s poem “ The awful rowing toward God (1975).

Chapter 14 q Strange Meeting • The title: meeting with her biological mother, strange the feelings of Jeanette during the meeting. • Events: Jeannets finally meets her biological mother Ann, and finds out she was wanted but her parents could keep her because of money problems. • Quotations: the writers quotes an extract of her book the stone gods, in which she describes the first meeting with her mu, .

Chapter 15 q The Wound • The title: wound she had form Mrs Winterson, from Ann, the wound everyone feels in his life, sooner or later. • Main events: Jeanette reflects on her painful journey, from childhood, to adulthood, till awareness of feeling at ease with herself and the rest of the world, feeling at home.

Coda Brief summary of how the book was born, and how Jeanette felt writing it. Moreover, the writes adds some information about her following meetings with Ann, and she also reflcets about maternity, love, past and future of events and life.