Meaning & Analysis
A man who intends to marry an older woman is advised to eat an apple before going to bed. The historical context suggests this was folk advice related to sexual performance, though whether the apple was believed to enhance or suppress libido was a matter of debate.
Insights
Preparation for a Challenge
The proverb serves as a metaphor for preparing for a challenging or unconventional undertaking. Marrying an 'old wife' represents the challenge, and eating the apple symbolizes the special, perhaps counter-intuitive, preparation required to ensure success.
Folk Wisdom as a Remedy
The apple symbolizes a simple, natural solution to a complex personal or social problem. It suggests that folk wisdom holds the key to navigating difficult life situations, such as a marriage that goes against social norms.
Control of Natural Appetites
The act of eating the apple can be interpreted as a way to manage or control natural desires. Depending on the apple's supposed effect (stimulating or suppressing), it represents an attempt to regulate one's own body to meet the perceived demands of the marital relationship.
Symbolism of the Apple
The proverb taps into the historical symbolism of the apple, which carries dual meanings of health and temptation. Its role here is ambiguous, reflecting contradictory folk beliefs about its effects on libido, as noted in the historical quotations. It could be seen as either a stimulant or a calming agent, depending on the interpretation.
Psychological Anxiety and Virility
This saying reveals early modern anxieties about age-gap relationships, specifically the perceived challenge to a man's virility when marrying an older woman. The need for a 'remedy' (the apple) underscores a cultural preoccupation with male sexual performance and the patriarchal pressures associated with marriage.
Folk Medicine and Contradiction
The conflicting explanations for the apple's effect—one suggesting it excites lust (Ray) and another that it quenches it (Cogan)—highlight the unscientific and often contradictory nature of folk medicine, which was based on tradition and observation rather than empirical evidence.
Rhetorical Devices
Rhyming Couplet
The rhyming of 'wed' and 'bed' creates a memorable, aphoristic quality, making the advice easy to transmit and recall as a piece of folk wisdom.
Conditional Command
The proverb is structured as a piece of direct advice or a command ('must eat'), giving it a prescriptive and authoritative tone.
Symbolism
The 'apple' functions as a potent symbol for folk remedies and their connection to health, diet, and sexuality. Its meaning is layered and context-dependent.
Transcription
Quotations
Apples . . are thought to quench the flame of Venus, according to that old English saying, He that will not a wife wed, must eate a cold Apple when he goeth to bed, though some turne it to a contrarie purpose.
He who will an old wife wedd, Lett him eat a cold apple when he goeth to bedd.
*Which by reason of its flatulency is apt to excite lust.
(He that will an).
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.