The Illusion of the Mundane

            Although most do not stop to think about why, meals are scarce in literature for the most part. Due to the fact that it is extremely difficult to write about an event so commonplace as sitting down to join in a meal in an interesting way, authors rarely include the gathering unless it is to signify something bigger and more important. As Foster says, eating is usually considered a very intimate occurrence. Thus, eating in literature often signals a turning point in the way one character feels toward another.

            Meals can also point to status. Elaborate foods and serving dishes signify high status and abundant wealth, cluing the reader in to the every day lives of the characters, whereas smaller portions and simpler foods tend to indicate lower status. By using something that everyone takes part in, every reader is able to relate to the characters on some level. In a sense, it brings the reader closer to all of the characters that are eating in addition to uniting the characters taking part in the activity. This is incredibly important in literature because most people hesitate to continue reading if they do not relate to the characters or their experiences in some way or another.

            An advantage of taking the time and energy to write about a meal is that it can convey something much more interesting and complex than simply ingesting sustenance. In Virginia Woolf’s essay “Two Meals,” she is able to describe something as intricate as the differences between how men and women were treated using only the descriptions of the meal she received at two colleges she visited: the men’s college and the women’s college. At the men’s college, she was treated to luxuriant dishes and multiple courses. However, at the women’s college, she was given a very plain and altogether unremarkable meal. With her accounts of the meals, she achieved something much larger than simply recounting and reviewing the meals she received. “Two Meals” is a prime example of how meals are shown in literature. Woolf was able to make a statement about society and the treatment of women with only two paragraphs, which goes to show the impactful way meals can be portrayed in literature.

            As Foster says, meals in literature are not always good omens. Because of the way we treat meals as a sign of friendship and peace, we are all the more upset when one of the people at the meal is revealed to have been plotting against the others. This immediately turns us against the character that had been conspiring against someone who trusted them enough to invite them to a meal together. This nearly instantaneous reaction has been ingrained into our brains from the time we were young children through the importance most of our parents placed on table manners. The fact that manners specifically for the table have been devised makes it all the easier to believe that humans place an inordinate amount of importance on meals.

            The incredible reverence of meals in literature makes it much easier to realize that most mundane events are placed in literature for a reason. It is no longer a simple walk to the store or an outing to the ice cream parlor. It is a means for something much more important to be conveyed to the reader.