The Human Body: A Literary Analysis

The bare human body is a mystery talked about from the beginning of time. The human body is complex, as is life. It goes through many stages: creation, puberty, sexual peak, and old age. The human body has been studied by many. Leonardo da Vinci had various notebooks filled with his findings. Literary fiction also has an array of stories that captivate an interest with the human body throughout the many stages of life. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, the story of Adam and Eve, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Kate Chopin's Ripe Figs, The Guitarist Tunes up by Francis Cornford, and Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis are just a few works for literature that have commentary on the human body. Possibly the most famous story of the creation of life …show more content…
All she wanted was to go to her cousin’s house. The entire short story is a metaphor for her coming of age. “Not that the ripening of figs had the least thing to do with it, but that is the way Maman-Nainaine was.” (Chopin, 1) Babette having to wait to go visit her cousin was not about figs in the literal sense. The figs are synonymous to her loins, not yet ready for sex, but slowly maturing. She was not yet of age, in the eyes of Maman-Nainaine, and had to wait until she was in order to go and possibly experience sex. In the late nineteenth century it was common for women to be married very young and to distant family members such as a cousin. This means that perhaps Babette was nearing child bearing age and therefore would be able to be picked by a husband soon. “But warm rains came along and plenty of strong sunshine, and though Maman-Naiaine was as patient as the statue of la Madone, and Babette as restless as a humming-bird, the first thing they both knew it was hot summer-time.” (Chopin, 3) Babette is excited by the idea of growing up and cannot wait to do what grown-ups do, but Maman-Naiaine is patiently waiting for the inevitable. “’Ah,’ said Maman-Nainaine, arching her eyebrows, ‘how early the figs have ripened this year!’ ‘Oh,’ said Babette, ‘I think they have ripened very late.’" (Chopin, 5 and 6) Time goes much faster for Maman-Nainaine because she perhaps does not want Babette to grow up so quickly and reach the age where her body has matured enough to be able to have the option of having sex. Babette is impatient because all she wants is to be able to go see her cousin and have sex. The only thing holding her back is her not fully ripened body. Would her new found maturity lead to