"I'd the upbringing a nun would envy. Until I was fifteen I was more familiar with Africa than my own body"

Joe Orton's quote, "I 'd the upbringing a nun would covet. Till I was fifteen I was more acquainted with Africa than my own body," is a vivid illustration of a rigorous and possibly sheltered early life. Let's break it down to comprehend its underlying significance and implications.

The phrase "I 'd the upbringing a nun would envy" recommends a childhood defined by rigidness, discipline, and potentially moral or spiritual strictness. Nuns are frequently related to a life of piety, order, and seclusion from worldly pleasures or understanding. By suggesting that his childhood would make a nun envious, Orton likely implies that his early years were marked by an even more stringent adherence to guidelines and values, possibly to the point of austerity or asceticism.

The 2nd part, "Until I was fifteen I was more knowledgeable about Africa than my own body," presents an appealing contrast. Africa, most likely meant here as a distant and exotic location, represents the unfamiliar or unknown. In discussing this continent in such a metaphorical sense, Orton conveys a sense of his early lack of knowledge or innocence concerning his own identity, desires, or sexuality. The juxtaposition of being more familiar with Africa than with his own body highlights an absence of self-awareness or exploration, possibly due to the restrictions imposed by his upbringing.

Additionally, reaching the age of fifteen could mark a turning point or awakening in Orton's life, a duration when he started to explore and understand his own identity and physicality-- worlds which had actually formerly been as foreign to him as a distant land. The quote records a moment of realization or change, resonating with styles of self-discovery and freedom from previous constraints.

In essence, Orton's words encapsulate a dramatic shift from ignorance to awareness, highlighting the profound disconnect in between his protected training and the wider understanding of self he ultimately pursued. This shift hints at wider styles of disobedience against social constraints and the mission for individual freedom, both of which are recurrent motifs in Orton's writing and life.