It was the morn after the marriage of Eve to that stranger in the garden bed.

[tara]

Hello,

The sentence I'd like to ask is from a novel "Farewell Summer" written by Ray Bradbury.

---quote---
Grandma stepped into her pantry and felt the wind blowing from the west.
The yeast was rising in the bowl, a sumptuous head, the head of an alien rising from the yield of other years. She touched the swell beneath the muslin cap.
It was the earth on the morn before the arrival of Adam.
It was the morn after the marrage of Eve to that stranger in the garden bed.
---unquote----

Does "stranger" mean Adam?
I wonder why he suddenly mentioned about Adam and Eve after describing the atmosphere of the pantry.

Thank you,
Tara

 

[Gillnetter]

Hello,

The sentence I'd like to ask is from [STRIKE]a[/STRIKE] the novel "Farewell Summer" written by Ray Bradbury. (I changed the article from "a" to "the" because you are discussing a specific novel)

---quote---
Grandma stepped into her pantry and felt the wind blowing from the west.
The yeast was rising in the bowl, a sumptuous head, the head of an alien rising from the yield of other years. She touched the swell beneath the muslin cap.
It was the earth on the morn before the arrival of Adam.
It was the morn after the marrage of Eve to that stranger in the garden bed.
---unquote----

Does "stranger" mean Adam? I would say so because, according to the Christian Bible, there were no other people on the earth at that time.
I wonder why he suddenly mentioned about Adam and Eve after describing the atmosphere of the pantry. The writer is trying to show an image of something new and fresh. As to why Bradbury wrote this way, you would have to ask him.

Thank you,
Tara

Gil

 

[tara]

Gil

Hello Gil,

Thank you for your response.
I'd like to ask someone's interpretation because it's impossible to
ask Bradbury about it.

Tara

 

[Gillnetter]

Hello Gil,

Thank you for your response.
I'd like to ask someone's interpretation because it's impossible to
ask Bradbury about it.

Tara

Good point. There is a logical flaw in the sentence in that Adam and Eve were never married. Even if you could ask the author why he chose a certain phrase he may not know. Sometimes words just flow sentence to sentence.

 

[tara]

Good point. There is a logical flaw in the sentence in that Adam and Eve were never married. Even if you could ask the author why he chose a certain phrase he may not know. Sometimes words just flow sentence to sentence.

I see. Thank you very much for your comment.

Best regards,
Tara

 

[BobK]

Hello,

The sentence I'd like to ask is from a novel "Farewell Summer" written by Ray Bradbury.

---quote---
Grandma stepped into her pantry and felt the wind blowing from the west.
The yeast was rising in the bowl, a sumptuous head, the head of an alien rising from the yield of other years. She touched the swell beneath the muslin cap.
It was the earth on the morn before the arrival of Adam.
It was the morn after the marrage of Eve to that stranger in the garden bed.
---unquote----

Does "stranger" mean Adam?
I wonder why he suddenly mentioned about Adam and Eve after describing the atmosphere of the pantry.

Thank you,
Tara

He suddenly mentioned Adam and Eve (and he used the archaic word 'morn') because that's the way Grandma thought. She was baking. The yeasted dough was 'rising in the bowl' and it had 'a sumptuous head' (that's 'head' in the frothy sense). And Grandma, in her god-fearing way, thought of the swelling in biblical terms. I don't know about 'stranger' - I have a feeling that some early translation of the Bible may have used it.

b

PS I'm afraid I don't agree with Gil about the non-marriage of Adam and Eve as a logical flaw. The Book of Common Prayer uses Adam and Eve as a model (in the wording of the marriage ceremony), and this is what was in Grandma's mind. If there was a logical flaw it was in Grandma's mind.

 

[Gillnetter]

He suddenly mentioned Adam and Eve (and he used the archaic word 'morn') because that's the way Grandma thought. She was baking. The yeasted dough was 'rising in the bowl' and it had 'a sumptuous head' (that's 'head' in the frothy sense). And Grandma, in her god-fearing way, thought of the swelling in biblical terms. I don't know about 'stranger' - I have a feeling that some early translation of the Bible may have used it.

b

PS I'm afraid I don't agree with Gil about the non-marriage of Adam and Eve as a logical flaw. The Book of Common Prayer uses Adam and Eve as a model (in the wording of the marriage ceremony), and this is what was in Grandma's mind. If there was a logical flaw it was in Grandma's mind.

Since the Book of Common Prayer was ordered to be written by a king, and various parts were negotiated in Parliament, my initial reaction was that it is not the most accurate of sources. Not having a solid background in the various teachings of the English Church myself, it may be that Grandma was taught this about marriage.

 

[tara]

He suddenly mentioned Adam and Eve (and he used the archaic word 'morn') because that's the way Grandma thought. She was baking. The yeasted dough was 'rising in the bowl' and it had 'a sumptuous head' (that's 'head' in the frothy sense). And Grandma, in her god-fearing way, thought of the swelling in biblical terms. I don't know about 'stranger' - I have a feeling that some early translation of the Bible may have used it.

b

PS I'm afraid I don't agree with Gil about the non-marriage of Adam and Eve as a logical flaw. The Book of Common Prayer uses Adam and Eve as a model (in the wording of the marriage ceremony), and this is what was in Grandma's mind. If there was a logical flaw it was in Grandma's mind.

Hello BobK,

Thank you very much for your kind and detailed explanation.
It's good to know these descriptions are from Grandma's point of view.
This is written in the third person, but I misunderstood it was from a boy's (
the main character)
I'm not sure if I understand correctly, but I guess Grandma regards her pantry as a sacred space or bakes breads with a sense of holiness.
Thank for giving me lots of hints.

Best regards,
Tara

 

[BobK]

Since the Book of Common Prayer was ordered to be written by a king, and various parts were negotiated in Parliament, my initial reaction was that it is not the most accurate of sources. Not having a solid background in the various teachings of the English Church myself, it may be that Grandma was taught this about marriage.

However unreliable as a source, it is the source of many idiomatic expressions - and it was very probably the source of Grandma's education. Just look in any decent Dictionary of Quotations and weigh them. ;-) The third edition of ODQ is the one I worked on, and it has 40 double-columned pages of quotations from the Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible. (That edition is just the one I know best - I'm sure it's been improved in subsequent editions.)

b

 

[BobK]

Hello BobK,

Thank you very much for your kind and detailed explanation.
It's good to know these descriptions are from Grandma's point of view.
That's just the way I see it; but good authors frequently choose their 'omniscient author's' words in a way that representes the way someone is thinking.
This is written in the third person, but I misunderstood it was from a boy's (
the main character)
I'm not sure if I understand correctly, but I guess Grandma regards her pantry as a sacred space or bakes breads with a sense of holiness.
Thank for giving me lots of hints.

Best regards,
Tara

That's one way of looking at it. I don't think she regarded the pantry - specifically - as a sacred-place. She just saw everything in Biblical terms. She may well have grown up in a household where the only book, and therefore the only source of literary images, was the Bible - which after all means book in Greek.

b

 

[tara]

That's one way of looking at it. I don't think she regarded the pantry - specifically - as a sacred-place. She just saz\w everything in Biblical terms. She may well have grown up in a household where the only book, and therefore the only source of literary images, was the Bible - which after all means book in Greek.

b

Hello,

Thank you again for your kind explanation.
I'll keep that mind when I read the descriptions of grandma in this story.

Thank you.
Tara