Chignon (hairstyle) traced back to ancient Greece, where Athenian women commonly wore the style with gold or ivory handcrafted hairpins. Athenian men wore the style as well, but they fastened their chignons with a clasp of "golden grasshoppers", according to "The History of the Peloponnesian War", by Thucydides. The chignon was specific to Athens, as other city states, such as Sparta and Cyprus, had their own style of hairdressing. The chignon was also popular in ancient China, where married women wore the low, knotted hairstyle. Male writers of the Victorian era, like Anthony Trollope, were fond of poking fun at the absurdity
Plum Bun prunes (plums) are baked. The use of the term "plum bun" is also a sexual innuendo as a plum bun can also be read as "an attractive piece". Angela must come to grips with her colored and white racial heritage, as well as with her femininity (stereotypically seen as sweetness), before she achieves psychological wholeness. Although African-American women were typed in popular song as "a little brown sugar" or a "jellyroll", Angela had to cease thinking of herself as a purveyor of feminine sweetness for sale, and instead step into new roles with inherent value. The novel’s plot and characters