19 pages 38 minutes read

Michael Ondaatje

The Cinnamon Peeler

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1992

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Symbols & Motifs

Cinnamon

The cinnamon symbolizes two things: desire and identity. The occupation, a cinnamon peeler, gives the speaker his identity. As peeling the bark defines the speaker, it links to the speaker’s lust for the woman, so the scent of cinnamon also symbolizes desire. In other words, the speaker's profession and personal life entwine.

As a symbol of desire, the cinnamon is unrelenting. The potent scent of cinnamon connects to the power of the speaker’s desire. He leaves “the yellow bark dust” (Line 3) on the woman’s pillow, and the cinnamon dust consumes the woman’s identity. The woman can’t escape the scent of cinnamon, as the speaker’s desire for the woman isn’t wishy-washy or fleeting but all-consuming. Through her smell, even people without sight can see that the speaker desires the woman. Even people who don’t know the woman—“strangers” (Line 17)—will know the woman “as the cinnamon’s peeler’s wife” (Line 18) due to the smell. The wife’s short command, “[s]mell me” (Line 46), reinforces the absolute power of the cinnamon symbol. It’s as if the woman is saying that if people don’t believe she’s the cinnamon peeler’s wife, or if they doubt the cinnamon peeler's unceasing passion for her, then they should take a whiff—she’ll smell like cinnamon because the spice symbolizes their deep, desirous union.

Related Titles

By Michael Ondaatje

Study Guide

logo

Anil's Ghost

Michael Ondaatje

Anil's Ghost

Michael Ondaatje

Plot Summary

logo

Coming Through Slaughter

Michael Ondaatje

Coming Through Slaughter

Michael Ondaatje

Plot Summary

logo

Divisadero

Michael Ondaatje

Divisadero

Michael Ondaatje

Study Guide

logo

In the Skin of a Lion

Michael Ondaatje

In the Skin of a Lion

Michael Ondaatje

Plot Summary

logo

Running in the Family

Michael Ondaatje

Running in the Family

Michael Ondaatje

Plot Summary

logo

The Cat's Table

Michael Ondaatje

The Cat's Table

Michael Ondaatje

Plot Summary

logo

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid

Michael Ondaatje

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid

Michael Ondaatje

Study Guide

logo

The English Patient

Michael Ondaatje

The English Patient

Michael Ondaatje

Plot Summary

logo

Warlight

Michael Ondaatje

Warlight

Michael Ondaatje