The Cinnamon Peeler

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.