disappointed that there isn’t a song of achilles film, but had to go ahead and make a criterion cover regardless. the cover is a nod to the recurring imagery of figs in the novel as well as the overall use of nature as a symbol.
patroclus, specifically during the chapter when they first have sex, frequently compares achilles to nature:
“he smelled like almonds and earth.”
“his eyelids were the color of the dawn sky.”
“he smelled like earth after rain.”
“the cave smelled hot and sweet like fruit beneath the sun.”
“his fingers were etched into my memory, slender and petal-veined.”
“he pressed against me, crushing my lips to wine.”
“he was outlined against the painted stars.”
as well, chapter 10, page 93, “it was spring, and we were fifteen.” the chapter begins by describing the blossoming season, the light breeze, the sun, the river, and the forest, before transitioning into a moment where the boys compare their growing bodies. “we watched the grass, the trees, and the nubs of new buds, just growing.” the novel uses nature as a symbol for adolescence in order to show the naturalism of the growing relationship between patroclus and achilles. the imagery is biblical, the way the forest is described during spring is very eden-like, and more obviously, the use of figs recalls the leaves used to conceal adam’s and eve’s genitals. nature links patroclus and achilles to the earth.
the musical spring awakening said it best- “touch me, just like that. now lower down where the figs lie.”
