Adis answers “What was Oliver's purpose in eating the...”

A Goodreads user asked this question about Call Me by Your Name:

What was Oliver's purpose in eating the peach? What point was he making? Or was he doing it to get a rise? Just curious of other opinions. I have mine.

Adis I think it's simply acceptance. Acceptance, one, of his thoughts, the kind that Elio himself finds to be shameful and dirty and 'sick'. Elio playing o…moreI think it's simply acceptance. Acceptance, one, of his thoughts, the kind that Elio himself finds to be shameful and dirty and 'sick'. Elio playing out his fantasies for his pleasure is the most personal and vulnerable part of his life as it would be for anybody. Oliver accepts this part of Elio wholly and unabashedly without a moment's hesitation. And two, acceptance of something his body produced, his semen which is also private and supposed to be gross for anyone else other than Elio himself. This again doesn't bother Oliver one bit. This is why Elio broke down and recalls the time when Anchise drew out with his mouth a scorpion's venom from Elio's foot. Recounting it as an act of kindness. This part in the book signifies Oliver entering Elio's private world and creating a wall between themselves and the rest of the world.(less)

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Call Me by Your Name

by André Aciman (Goodreads Author)

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