Sexing the Cherry Lesson Plan

What purpose do the alternate protagonists Nicolas Jordan and the unnamed woman serve in the novel?

These alternate protagonists exist in the modern-day world (of the book, which was published in 1989). Because of their striking similarities to Jordan and Dog-Woman, they serve to deepen Winterson's exploration of time as non-linear. It is unclear if Nicolas and the unnamed women are meant to be reincarnations of Jordan and Dog-Woman or even somehow the same people. The novel also suggests the two fires (burning down the factory in the present day and the fire in a baker's yard in 1666) are occurring simultaneously, or at least in a parallel way. The new protagonists...