Why is orange the color associated with jealousy in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and in Dante's Inferno?
"The count is neither sad, nor sick, nor merry, nor
well; but civil count, civil as an orange, and
something of that jealous complexion."
- Gregory Wilbur
- Franklin, Tennessee
- Chief Musician at Parish Presbyterian Church, Senior Fellow & Dean of the Chapel at New College Franklin and Director of King's Meadow Study Center with a deep interest in how symbolism reveals the nature and character of God.
7 comments:
Perhaps form the rarity of such a fruit in England at that time , would make one jealous of it possessor. Or perhaps that an orange eaten in whole is sharp to the taste at first and then juicy sweet once given in to its allurement....... . But it is Shakespeare , so who can tell....
I always thought the color associated with jealousy was green, as in "he was green with envy"?
Ah, but envy and jealousy are not the same thing.
Turns out, orange represented gluttony in the medieval church... perhaps because the color stimulates appetite?
Also, The fruit itself was not as uniformly orange as it is today. In the 15th century oranges, and lemons also, still had a lot of green on their skin.
It’s a play on words, “but civil count, civil (Seville) is an orange... There are a type of orange from Seville, Spain
Seville oranges are bitter, so the pun Beatrice makes ("he is civil as an orange") is referencing his bitterness/jealousy about the situation.
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