Summary
Stanza 1
“The Cinnamon Peeler” immediately introduces a hypothetical scenario with the opening line: “If I were a cinnamon peeler.” This indicates to readers that the speaker is not actually a cinnamon peeler, but the poem will explore the implications if he were. The stanza concludes with a sensual undertone, as the speaker mentions, “I would ride your bed / and leave the yellow bark dust / on your pillow.” The term “ride” is typically innocent, but paired with “bed,” it takes on a sexual meaning. It's evident that the speaker is composing a sensual piece for his lover. The “yellow bark dust” refers to the residue left on a cinnamon peeler after working with the spice, which is derived from the bark of a Sri Lankan evergreen tree. By mentioning leaving this dust on his lover's pillow, the speaker creates a vivid image of the couple's intimacy, with the cinnamon dust marking his presence in the bed.
Stanza 2
The poem becomes more sensual at the start of the second stanza, as the speaker vividly describes which parts of the woman’s body would carry the scent of cinnamon dust. Besides discussing her anatomy, the speaker highlights how the cinnamon aroma would signify her as his wife, even when she steps outside. To stress the scent's power, the speaker illustrates how it could cause blind people to stumble due to its strength. He uses two water-related images to show that the woman could not wash away the fragrance.
Whether the woman is lightly sprinkled by a gentle stream from a rain gutter or thoroughly soaked by a heavy monsoon, the scent of the man's trade, symbolizing his affection and longing, will linger on her. A symbol is a tangible object, action, or gesture that also conveys an abstract idea while maintaining its literal meaning. Symbols in literature appear as either local or universal. Local symbols have meaning only within a specific work, while universal symbols are widely recognized regardless of context. The poem utilizes the former. Although the speaker initially discusses the strong cinnamon scent, it is clear through his sensual imagery that, within the poem's context, cinnamon symbolizes sexual desire.
Stanza 3
In the third stanza, the poem becomes even more sensual. While the previous stanza focused on the woman’s “breasts and shoulders,” the speaker now moves further down her body, identifying additional areas where his cinnamon fragrance would linger. The speaker specifically mentions the woman’s thigh, an area often associated with sensuality. The phrase “smooth pasture” enhances the erotic nature of the description by emphasizing the softness of her skin, which is another physical trait linked to sensuality. The third line offers one of the poem’s most vivid depictions: “neighbour to your hair.” Though “hair” typically refers to the hair on a person’s head, the context of hair near the woman's upper thigh clearly alludes to her pubic hair.
This allusion is overtly sexual, yet the speaker only briefly dwells on it before moving on to describe the woman's back. While not as explicitly sexual as pubic hair, a woman’s back remains inherently seductive, as does the final description of her ankle. Although American culture’s focus on sexual liberation has somewhat diminished the allure and mystique of a woman’s ankle, in certain societies where women are expected to dress more conservatively, even glimpsing an ankle can be quite alluring. The speaker encapsulates his observations in the stanza’s concluding lines: “You will be known among strangers / as the cinnamon peeler’s wife.” Essentially, the cinnamon peeler’s scent, symbolizing his sexual longing and the marital bond he shares with the...
(This entire section contains 1552 words.)
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woman, has so thoroughly marked her that even strangers will identify her as the cinnamon peeler’s wife.
Stanza 4
At this juncture, the poem takes a different direction. Previously, it operated on a hypothetical level, with the married couple engaging in a role-playing scenario. Now, it transitions to recounting the couple’s actual past. As mentioned in the poem's opening line, the speaker is not a cinnamon peeler. Nonetheless, his love for his wife is as profound as the affection this imagined cinnamon peeler has for his spouse. The poet employs the hypothetical cinnamon peeler to underscore his yearning for his wife symbolically, as if it were a scent noticeable to others. As the poem shifts in this stanza, readers understand why the speaker goes to such lengths. He reflects on a time before their marriage, during their courtship. He was hesitant to gaze at his beloved, fearing it would reveal his feelings. More crucially, the speaker mentions he couldn't touch her. Doing so would be akin to the cinnamon peeler touching his wife and leaving behind cinnamon dust as evidence of his desire. While the speaker wouldn't leave physical traces like dust, he notes in the subsequent line that others, particularly her family, would literally perceive his longing for her.
Due to the intensity of his desire, the speaker must take additional measures to conceal this scent, beyond merely avoiding looking at or touching her. The narrator explains that he must mask the strong scent of his desire by hiding it behind other powerful aromas.
Stanza 5
In the fifth stanza, the speaker shifts focus once more. Previously, he discussed the imagined scenario of a cinnamon peeler and his wife making love and described how, during their courtship, he couldn't even look at or touch his beloved for fear of revealing his desire. Now, he reflects on his personal experience of making love to his beloved during their dating period. He recalls a day in their marriage when they went swimming together. The poet highlights that while they were both submerged in water, “you could hold me and be blind of smell.” This suggests that during their courtship, when they tried to conceal their longing from her family, it was challenging to mask its intensity. Their focus was on their forbidden desire, making it even more irresistible. However, during this intimate swim as a married couple, they could be “blind of smell” because they no longer needed to hide their passion. They were fulfilling their desire, temporarily neutralizing its scent. This concept sets the stage for the remainder of the poem.
Stanza 6
This line transitions into the sixth stanza, beginning with a statement from the speaker’s beloved. At first glance, the opening line might suggest that the woman is accusing the speaker of literally being with other women. This interpretation is possible. However, the speaker’s reference to a “grass cutter” and “lime burner” implies another meaning. Unlike a cinnamon peeler, these professions involve handling natural substances with minimal or no scent. While fresh-cut grass has a distinct aroma, it lacks the intensity of freshly peeled cinnamon bark. Lime, in particular, contrasts even more starkly with cinnamon as it is inherently odorless. A lime burner, who extracts lime from limestone by removing carbon dioxide through burning, does not carry the scent of his work elsewhere. Given these choices, it seems unlikely that the speaker’s beloved is accusing him of infidelity. Instead, she appears to be crafting her own hypothetical scenario to counter her husband’s imagined cinnamon peeler situation. She envisions what it would be like for her lover to be with other women who do not bear the scent of their husband’s occupation, unlike in the scenario where she is the cinnamon peeler’s wife. In the stanza's final lines, the speaker’s beloved smells her arms, which no longer carry the scent of their desire.
Stanzas 7–8
The seventh stanza is remarkably brief, consisting of just two words: “and knew.” Despite its brevity, it carries significant weight, suggesting the woman experiences a revelation that is elaborated upon in the following stanza. The speaker’s wife continues exploring both hypothetical scenarios, expressing that being without a scent, like a lime burner’s daughter, is undesirable. She prefers to be marked by the scent of her husband’s longing. To lack this would feel as if she were “not spoken to in the act of love” or “wounded without the pleasure of a scar.” The first idea implies that a lack of intense desire between partners equates to mechanical intimacy devoid of communication. The second notion is more visceral, again using anatomical imagery, but this time the speaker refers to a wound, typically seen as negative. However, in the poem's context, even a wound can be pleasurable if it leaves a mark, much like how the cinnamon peeler leaves his mark on his wife.
Stanza 9
The concluding stanza ties together both hypothetical scenarios. The speaker’s wife presents her body to her husband, and the poem once more highlights an aspect of her anatomy—her belly. She ends the poem by embracing the role-playing scenario her husband initiated, recognizing herself as his wife and instructing him: “Smell me.” This request, as the speaker has illustrated throughout the poem, equates scent with desire in both the speaker’s perspective and the couple's relationship. Thus, when she asks him to smell her, she is inviting him to desire her. This married pair is reigniting their passion for one another by reminiscing about past experiences and engaging in a role-playing game where he assumes the role of a cinnamon peeler, and she becomes the cinnamon peeler’s wife.
