A Christmas Interlude

As Christmas approaches, I thought it would be fitting to take a break from my chronological journey through literature and come up with something a little festive.  Obviously Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843) has the Christmas meal par excellence, but with the school term having only ended on Friday I don’t think I really have time to roast a goose or make a plum pudding in order to replicate the meal enjoyed by Bob Cratchit and his family. 

But I was pleased to find a much simpler idea when I was teaching Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) to my Year 10s.  In chapter 9 Mrs Bennet and her two youngest daughters, Kitty and Lydia, have come to visit Jane and Elizabeth who are staying at Netherfield, guests of Mr Bingley, whilst Jane recovers from a heavy cold caught when she rode over to visit the Bingleys in a rainstorm.  During a rather awkward conversation, in which Mrs Bennet frequently makes digs at Mr Darcy’s pride (having not forgiven him for refusing to dance with Elizabeth at the Meryton assembly), Elizabeth attempts to change the subject by enquiring whether Charlotte Lucas has visited the Bennets at their home, Longbourn.  On hearing that Charlotte called on the previous day, Elizabeth enquires whether she stayed for dinner, only for Mrs Bennet to say: “No, she would go home.  I fancy she was wanted about the mince pies.” 

The Civilizing Effects of Food

When I first blogged about food in Robinson Crusoe I promised that I would - like the eponymous protagonist - try cooking with goat, as soon as I sourced some goat meat - see http://pagetoplate.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/food-survival-manual.html  Well, goat meat has arrived at my local farmers' market, so I couldn't resist the opportunity to try it out. 

Goats provide Crusoe with his main protein source on the island.  And not only does he consume their flesh, but he also drinks their milk and uses it to make butter and cheese, all part of Crusoe's attempts to plant an area of Western civilization on this uninhabited desert island in the southern part of the Caribbean. 

The link between food and civilization is developed further when Crusoe encounters Man Friday on the island, rescuing him from his captors who are on the point of killing and eating him.  Realising that Friday himself is also a cannibal - he suggests to Crusoe that they eat his dead captors - Crusoe embarks on a mission to civilize and Christianize Friday.  He does this through teaching him how to cook, thereby persuading him of the tastiness of non-human flesh.   

Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday by Carl Offterdinger (1829-1889)