Babettes Feast Essay -- essays papers

Babettes Feast I believe that everything happens for a reason. Happen, and happen at certain times for a reason also. The movie, Babette’s Feast, helped confirm my beliefs. This movie started out focused on Martina and Phillipa with their father, the pastor. The movie quickly shows his silent dominance over his two daughters. He keeps them under his wings until the day he dies, and then even after that they continue to live in his shadow. Everything he preached is believed and followed by them and members of their community. The father taught them that â€Å"the only thing which we may take with us from our life on earth are those things which we have given away.† Because of their father, the two devoted their lives to carrying on his preaching and his kindness towards the other followers. So instead of marrying, they decided to devote their lives to God and to their late father. By doing this they would take away from earth exactly what they gave while on earth. Their dedication to their father and the church made them underestimate the power of love and marriage. It’s not like these women did not have chances to marry, or take different courses in their lives. Martina was extremely beautiful and caught the eye of every young man, but the sternness of her father, and her own aloofness kept them from pursuing her. A prime example would be, Lorens Loewenhielm, the officer who met her via his rich older aunt. Martina was very interested in him, but never gave him any encouragement. Phillipa was blessed with â€Å"the voice of an angel,† while singing in church she caught the eye/ear of world renowned French tenor Achille Papin. Not only does he fall in love with her, he wanted to make her into a star in France. Yet again, a suitor is rebuffed by the daughters. In both cases the daughters did not openly reject their suitors, instead they were aloof and acted uninterested. In the case of Phillipa she asked her father to inform Papin that she no longer wanted to take music lessons from him. There is no clear reason why they turned down all their suitors. Though there are many possible reasons. The girls may not have found the men attractive and suitable to settle down with, maybe they just weren’t interested in men, perhaps their true calling was God and helping others, though it could possibly be because their father had told them never to marry. He ... ...a seductive love affair that no one who tasted the food was immune to its powers. They all became part of the food. There was so much power in the food it healed rifts in the community that had been there for years. Though it may have seemed random that Babette showed up on the sisters doorstep on a stormy night, armed with a letter from Phillipa’s old beau. It really wasn’t, Babette was a necessary part of their lives. Because everything happens for a reason, Babette came to live with the sisters for a reason. During the time Babette came to Jutland the community was in shambles. After the loss of the pastor faith had begun to dwindle. Though Babette was often a silent attribute she in fact was very powerful in all their lives. She may not have verbally preached to the community, but her food had a message that connected them all. Babette came to Jutland to escape from the war in France. but her presence was much more important than just a housemaid, she also helped the sisters with their charity work. More importantly, she came there to help reunite the community. That was her role in life. To create beautiful meals, and help that poor community in rural Denmark.