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Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard
In the classic "Babette's Feast," a mysterious Frenchwoman prepares a sumptuous feast for a gathering of religious ascetics and, in doing so, introduces them to the true essence of grace. In "The Immortal Story," a miserly old tea-trader living in Canton wishes for power and finds redemption as he turns an oft-told sailors' tale into reality for a young man and woman. And in the magnificent novella Ehrengard, Dinesen tells of the powerful yet restrained rapport between a noble Wagnerian beauty and a rakish artist.
Hauntingly evoked and sensuously realized, the five stories and novella collected here have the hold of "fairy stories read in childhood . . . of dreams . . . and of our life as dreams" (The New York Times).
Hauntingly evoked and sensuously realized, the five stories and novella collected here have the hold of "fairy stories read in childhood . . . of dreams . . . and of our life as dreams" (The New York Times).
289 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
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743 people want to read
About the author
Isak Dinesen
156 books587 followersPseudonym used by the Danish author Karen Blixen.
Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke (Danish: [kʰɑːɑn ˈb̥leɡ̊sn̩]), born Karen Christentze Dinesen, was a Danish author, also known by the pen name Isak Dinesen, who wrote works in Danish, French and English. She also at times used the pen names Tania Blixen, Osceola, and Pierre Andrézel.
Blixen is best known for Out of Africa, an account of her life while living in Kenya, and for one of her stories, "Babette's Feast," both of which have been adapted into Academy Award-winning motion pictures. She is also noted for her Seven Gothic Tales, particularly in Denmark.
(wikipedia)
Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke (Danish: [kʰɑːɑn ˈb̥leɡ̊sn̩]), born Karen Christentze Dinesen, was a Danish author, also known by the pen name Isak Dinesen, who wrote works in Danish, French and English. She also at times used the pen names Tania Blixen, Osceola, and Pierre Andrézel.
Blixen is best known for Out of Africa, an account of her life while living in Kenya, and for one of her stories, "Babette's Feast," both of which have been adapted into Academy Award-winning motion pictures. She is also noted for her Seven Gothic Tales, particularly in Denmark.
(wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
November 24, 2007
Somewhere between the short,jewel like clarity of Winter's Tales and the dark pathways of Seven Gothic Tales this is possibly Dineson's most entertaining collection. Babette's feast is a justified comic classic(undercut with her trademark melancholy),Immortal Story is close to the best thing she has every written(up there with the Dreamers and Sorrow Acre),a mix of gothic terror and farce. Dineson can be best described as someone who has swallowed a library but still wants to tell you campfire tales.
February 6, 2017
An amusing though wildly varying in quality collection of deliberately old-fashioned stories that sometimes have tinges of magical realism.
Glancing over the other reviews, I have no doubt that some well-intentioned teacher forced many students to review one story from this version of this book, as about 90% of the reviews begin with some variation of, 'I was deeply saddened to only have the opportunity to read The Immortal Story in this book, but it was alright I guess.' Well, I suppose I applaud the teacher for trying something new to engage students and certainly everyone's opinions and reviews are valid, but when the majority of a book's reviews seem to come from people being forced to write a review based on less than a quarter of the book, it somehow seems counterproductive and I'm glad I haven't seen this in any other books here yet.
Anyway, there are two gems here. Babette's Feast is the obvious one, and the reason I read the book. It was wonderful. In it, two elderly, pious and austere Scandinavian sisters take in a refugee French cook who eventually wants to cook a feast for them and their acquaintances.
The second is the tale the aforementioned teacher assigned, The Immortal Story. A wealthy and crotchety dying businessman living in China decides to get his Jewish employee/assistant to help him recreate and make real the only story he's ever heard, which involves finding both a stud of a sailor and a beautiful woman to participate.
The Diver is also a great little story (being shorter than the above two), though the ending left a bit to be desired. It concerns a young Islamic scholar who with great enthusiasm decides he wants to fly and sets to building wings to allow him to do so, though some of the older scholars are not so keen on his plans. I didn't care for [spoiler]the talking sea creature at the end, though since that part is told as a story by the character I suppose it's possible that he could have only made it up.[end spoiler]
Both Tempests and The Ring were lacklustre. Tempests involves a travelling drama troupe in Scandinavia doing Shakespeare's The Tempest, including a girl who has a missing sailor from Scotland for a father. When an actual raging tempest intervenes their ship one night, it sets off a series of events that especially dramatically changes the girl's life. The Ring is a very short story about the dangers of a newly-married girl walking home alone one day.
Ehrengard, the novella that was tacked on to the end of the collection Anecdotes of Destiny to form this book, was good. It began slowly and I thought I wouldn't like it. It defines itself in three parts and by the middle of the second part was when I really began enjoying it. It is set in a small Germanic area that was at the time its own kingdom. The ruling family are desperate for their only son to marry and have an heir to prevent their less savoury relatives from taking over after him. They enlist the help of a trusted older artist at their royal court, and he succeeds in making a match for the boy, though everything doesn't go quite as planned. Eventually, Ehrengard enters the picture, the only daughter in a military family that includes five brothers. She is wholly trustworthy and without blemish and so is enlisted in a secondary role to help with the royal family's problems and preserve their good name. I particularly liked this quote- 'For there is a strange quality about a secret: it smells of secrecy. You may be far from getting the true nature of the secret itself, you might even, had it been told you, be highly skeptical and incredulous of it—yet you will feel certain that a secret there be.'
In book order:
The Diver- 4 stars
Babette's Feast- 5 stars
Tempests- 2 stars
The Immortal Story- 5 stars
The Ring- 2 stars
Ehrengard- 3 stars
Glancing over the other reviews, I have no doubt that some well-intentioned teacher forced many students to review one story from this version of this book, as about 90% of the reviews begin with some variation of, 'I was deeply saddened to only have the opportunity to read The Immortal Story in this book, but it was alright I guess.' Well, I suppose I applaud the teacher for trying something new to engage students and certainly everyone's opinions and reviews are valid, but when the majority of a book's reviews seem to come from people being forced to write a review based on less than a quarter of the book, it somehow seems counterproductive and I'm glad I haven't seen this in any other books here yet.
Anyway, there are two gems here. Babette's Feast is the obvious one, and the reason I read the book. It was wonderful. In it, two elderly, pious and austere Scandinavian sisters take in a refugee French cook who eventually wants to cook a feast for them and their acquaintances.
The second is the tale the aforementioned teacher assigned, The Immortal Story. A wealthy and crotchety dying businessman living in China decides to get his Jewish employee/assistant to help him recreate and make real the only story he's ever heard, which involves finding both a stud of a sailor and a beautiful woman to participate.
The Diver is also a great little story (being shorter than the above two), though the ending left a bit to be desired. It concerns a young Islamic scholar who with great enthusiasm decides he wants to fly and sets to building wings to allow him to do so, though some of the older scholars are not so keen on his plans. I didn't care for [spoiler]the talking sea creature at the end, though since that part is told as a story by the character I suppose it's possible that he could have only made it up.[end spoiler]
Both Tempests and The Ring were lacklustre. Tempests involves a travelling drama troupe in Scandinavia doing Shakespeare's The Tempest, including a girl who has a missing sailor from Scotland for a father. When an actual raging tempest intervenes their ship one night, it sets off a series of events that especially dramatically changes the girl's life. The Ring is a very short story about the dangers of a newly-married girl walking home alone one day.
Ehrengard, the novella that was tacked on to the end of the collection Anecdotes of Destiny to form this book, was good. It began slowly and I thought I wouldn't like it. It defines itself in three parts and by the middle of the second part was when I really began enjoying it. It is set in a small Germanic area that was at the time its own kingdom. The ruling family are desperate for their only son to marry and have an heir to prevent their less savoury relatives from taking over after him. They enlist the help of a trusted older artist at their royal court, and he succeeds in making a match for the boy, though everything doesn't go quite as planned. Eventually, Ehrengard enters the picture, the only daughter in a military family that includes five brothers. She is wholly trustworthy and without blemish and so is enlisted in a secondary role to help with the royal family's problems and preserve their good name. I particularly liked this quote- 'For there is a strange quality about a secret: it smells of secrecy. You may be far from getting the true nature of the secret itself, you might even, had it been told you, be highly skeptical and incredulous of it—yet you will feel certain that a secret there be.'
In book order:
The Diver- 4 stars
Babette's Feast- 5 stars
Tempests- 2 stars
The Immortal Story- 5 stars
The Ring- 2 stars
Ehrengard- 3 stars
June 15, 2015
some stories are excellent and some are so-so. that's what made me decide to rate four stars for this collection. gothic tales and out of Africa are the best representation of dinesen's writerly talents.
July 24, 2015
Having now read virtually all of Dinesen’s fictional output (I still have not read Out of Africa, the book for which she is most famous, but it’s a memoir, not a novel) I feel prepared to assess her body of work as a whole. She is, basically, a genius. But her genius is of the extremely specialized sort that exhausts itself quickly once it’s found the right mode of expression. Dinesen finds her mode immediately: Nearly all of her stories are concerned with 18th and 19th century European aristocracy, she returns again and again to the same themes (art imitates life imitates God imitates art—or some variation thereof), and her deliberately archaic storyteller’s voice undergoes little evolution over the course of four volumes, except that later stories tend to be less descriptive, stripped to the essentials. Seven Gothic Tales, her first published work, exemplifies all of her defining characteristics, and is as perfect and fully realized a book as has ever been written, the kind of masterwork that would ideally cap off and neatly summarize a long career. Except it came in the middle of her life, at the beginning of her career.
The problem with reaching the pinnacle of your art is what do you do next? There are really only two options: you can try to reinvent yourself as an artist—the riskier but potentially more rewarding option—or you can keep doing what you’re good at. (I guess there is a third, psuedo-option: stop making art.) Dinesen opts for #2. In becoming a writer, she had already reinvented herself once; as a writer, she has so singular a voice and vision, it is truly difficult to imagine her wearing any other style as elegantly.
I didn’t call her a genius for nothing, and in Winter’s Tales, her second volume of stories, she handily produces enough narrative magic and gorgeous scenery to distract from the fact that she is really just writing Seven Gothic Tales all over again. Who cares: they’re great stories, and she tells them like nobody else could.
Her limitations become more obvious in Last Tales (which is somewhat confusingly not her last work) and in this volume, which is actually her last. In these final collections her decadent European locales begin to feel a bit repetitious, and her dichotomous conception of class and art, in which peasants and aristocrats are cool because they can appreciate the beauty of tragedy, whereas the middle class sucks because they like happy endings, begins to seem...well, quaint, to be sure. Dinesen’s own preference for tragedy isn’t a problem in and of itself, except that the more of her you’ve read, the more predictable her plots become. (No, the young lovers are not getting together in the end.) When she does dabble in comedy, as in Babette’s Feast, the results are generally just as good, if not better, so it’s a little disappointing that she doesn’t break her own mold more often. My preference for Anecdotes of Destiny over Last Tales stems mostly from the fact that this book has more variety in tone and theme overall.
Still I wouldn’t hesitate to put her in the same league as Borges, whose much larger reputation also rides mostly on two collections of short stories. She reminds me of Borges in a lot of ways: her stubborn advocacy for the short form over the novel, her encyclopedic knowledge of world literature and dense allusiveness, her metafictional concern with stories and storytelling. She’s narrower in her intellectual focus, but her writing itself is more expansive, making room for the traditional elements of fiction that Borges often omits: suspense, a sense of physical place, characters. There’s no reason she shouldn’t be regarded as one of the greats, except there are a couple of movies based on her work, and she was a woman. So, really, no reason. Do yourself a favor and read her.
The problem with reaching the pinnacle of your art is what do you do next? There are really only two options: you can try to reinvent yourself as an artist—the riskier but potentially more rewarding option—or you can keep doing what you’re good at. (I guess there is a third, psuedo-option: stop making art.) Dinesen opts for #2. In becoming a writer, she had already reinvented herself once; as a writer, she has so singular a voice and vision, it is truly difficult to imagine her wearing any other style as elegantly.
I didn’t call her a genius for nothing, and in Winter’s Tales, her second volume of stories, she handily produces enough narrative magic and gorgeous scenery to distract from the fact that she is really just writing Seven Gothic Tales all over again. Who cares: they’re great stories, and she tells them like nobody else could.
Her limitations become more obvious in Last Tales (which is somewhat confusingly not her last work) and in this volume, which is actually her last. In these final collections her decadent European locales begin to feel a bit repetitious, and her dichotomous conception of class and art, in which peasants and aristocrats are cool because they can appreciate the beauty of tragedy, whereas the middle class sucks because they like happy endings, begins to seem...well, quaint, to be sure. Dinesen’s own preference for tragedy isn’t a problem in and of itself, except that the more of her you’ve read, the more predictable her plots become. (No, the young lovers are not getting together in the end.) When she does dabble in comedy, as in Babette’s Feast, the results are generally just as good, if not better, so it’s a little disappointing that she doesn’t break her own mold more often. My preference for Anecdotes of Destiny over Last Tales stems mostly from the fact that this book has more variety in tone and theme overall.
Still I wouldn’t hesitate to put her in the same league as Borges, whose much larger reputation also rides mostly on two collections of short stories. She reminds me of Borges in a lot of ways: her stubborn advocacy for the short form over the novel, her encyclopedic knowledge of world literature and dense allusiveness, her metafictional concern with stories and storytelling. She’s narrower in her intellectual focus, but her writing itself is more expansive, making room for the traditional elements of fiction that Borges often omits: suspense, a sense of physical place, characters. There’s no reason she shouldn’t be regarded as one of the greats, except there are a couple of movies based on her work, and she was a woman. So, really, no reason. Do yourself a favor and read her.
November 28, 2022
Isak Dinesen writes beautifully, but I don't think I like her view of the world. Somehow it is enchanting and disenchanting at the same time.
September 5, 2024
I heard about this collection of short stories in a Q&A response by John Jeremiah Sullivan who writes fun, off-beat, insightful essays and seems to have a taste for good (especially southern American) literature, answering a guy saying "I'm new to reading, what should I read?"
This is a Norwegian (I believe) female author publishing under a pseudonym for English audiences and writing tales in the style of romanticism-era literature. Babette's Feast, upon which Pope BXVI's favorite movie was based, is included in this collection. The stories are paved with smooth, beautiful sentences and frequently contain small sections that feel like masterpieces capturing something totally unique. They have this abiding feeling of strangeness throughout while being beautiful at the same time. The collection tempts towards a 5-star but it has a slight modernist bent that makes you a touch wary. The last word has to be positive, though, because I'd recommend them eagerly to an adventurous friend. John Jeremiah Sullivan delivered again. Very hard to describe or do credit to.
This is a Norwegian (I believe) female author publishing under a pseudonym for English audiences and writing tales in the style of romanticism-era literature. Babette's Feast, upon which Pope BXVI's favorite movie was based, is included in this collection. The stories are paved with smooth, beautiful sentences and frequently contain small sections that feel like masterpieces capturing something totally unique. They have this abiding feeling of strangeness throughout while being beautiful at the same time. The collection tempts towards a 5-star but it has a slight modernist bent that makes you a touch wary. The last word has to be positive, though, because I'd recommend them eagerly to an adventurous friend. John Jeremiah Sullivan delivered again. Very hard to describe or do credit to.
March 19, 2023
The edition I read actually included Anecdotes of destiny only. Blixen's style is flawless and her stories impeccably crafted. All five deal with the futility of human endeavours, and every now and then you can feel a sense of gravitas hanging in the air. Being familiar with the cinematic adaptation of both Babette's Feast and Immortal Story, I was curious to discover the original source. While the former was a bit too conventional for my taste, the latter truly was a pleasure to read. As for the other stories, I found both The Diver and The Ring promising, but somehow ending too soon. Yet the story I was disappointed the most was Tempests: despite her original re-imagining of some characters from Shakespeare's play, Blixen seems more concerned with religious themes than with developing her story. Or maybe religion is, after all, the thread connecting all the stories together, which is probably the reason why I didn't like the collection that much in the first place.
February 5, 2018
This is my 3rd or 4th time reading these tales, and each time I am enchanted. Babette's Feast is not only a story as delicious as the meal she serves, it has also been made into one of the most perfect movies ever made. This is literature at its highest form, touching the intellect as well as, dare I say it, the soul--the deep well that is the elixir of life itself.
September 5, 2022
The short story Babette's Feast has popped up in multiple book conversations lately, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't fall in love with that particular story (I think it might have been my least favorite of the entire collection), but I enjoyed several of the others. Dinesen's prose is really gorgeous and is worth reading, even when the stories themselves aren't the most enthralling.
March 20, 2018
I only read the story "Babette's Feast" for book club. I really enjoyed the story & we had a great conversation about the characters during our meeting.
March 13, 2021
My desire to read Babette’s Feast was the result of having seen and loved the movie of the same name. Because is it a short story, it is included in a compilation. I had high expectations and was not disappointed. Reading works of great authors from other cultures and countries can be an enriching experience. Karen Blixen’s short stories are poignant examples.
March 22, 2025
Six enigmatic stories, two as short as a few pages and four long enough to be considered (short) novellas, written by Danish writer Karen Blixen, under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen. They are set in a variety of times and settings, including one about a French maid in the home of two Norwegian spinsters; another about a Cantonese tea merchant on the verge of death; and one in an imagined Eastern European principality. There is even one about a Sufi mystic in Shiraz who dreamed of learning from the birds how to fly. They are strongly suggestive of symbolism, almost allegorical and the reader is left trying to puzzle out the hidden meanings – though it is hard to do, because many of the tales have a surfeit of story lines, that complicate any explanation.
Babette’s Feast is probably the best known of the stories in the collection, made famous by the movie of the same name. Two unmarried sisters, the daughters of the leader of a reclusive religious sect, live together in a spartan home. They were both beauties when younger and had admirers: for the elder sister, a raffish young lieutenant sent up country to lie low after a scandal, and for the younger, a famous Parisian opera singer. But both leave, after being repulsed by the sisters. Years later, a young refugee turns up at their doorstep sent by the Parisian lover. Though it is not entirely clear why she had to escape, it is implied that she was perhaps part of the Paris Commune, crushed by the Royalists in 1871. The sisters take her in and she serves them as a maid. But Babette wins the lottery and prepares to leave for Paris – but before she leaves, she would like to throw them a feast. This is against the spartan religious ideals of the sisters, but they reluctantly agree. By coincidence, the elder sister’s lover, the raffish lieutenant who is now a general, has also returned. He too is invited to the dinner and comes mostly to validate the choice he made years ago to leave – he wants to experience again the bland food and simple life of the sisters, to confirm how boring his life would have been if he had stayed. But what he gets is a magnificent Parisian feast – for Babette, in addition to being a Communard, was also the celebrated chef at a great Paris restaurant. But the other guests treat the food as matter of fact, lest any approbation be seen as approval of Babette’s decadence. The stunned general is left with the impression that dining like this is a routine matter for them. But the ultimate irony is this: Babette has exhausted her lottery winnings and has no way of returning to Paris. Is this an allegory of earthly existence – that what we earn in this life is expended here itself, in transitory pleasures, with nothing left to take us back to where we belong?
In Tempests, an ageing celebrity stage actor, tired of the endless society rounds of Copenhagen, decides to start a touring theater company in the isolated regions of northern Norway. There he comes across a young actress, a complete novice, who he decides to take on as a protégé. She will play the role of Ariel in his production of The Tempest against his own Prospero. But she has an interesting backstory. She is the daughter of a Scottish sea captain, the survivor of a shipwreck, and a local laundress. He stayed long enough to repair his ship and conceive a child and then left promising to return. But he never did, and the woman raised Malli alone. Now Malli, along with the rest of the troupe, are traveling to a local city to stage the play. But a tempest breaks out, and the ship is in danger of sinking taking all crew and passengers to their death. Malli, fully taking on the role of Ariel in the play, labors through the night to save the ship with the help of a young seaman, Ferdinand. The ship is still afloat at daybreak and the overjoyed townsfolk receive the crew and especially Malli as heroes. Malli herself is taken in as a guest in the ship owner’s home, where the young son falls in love with Malli. He proposes marriage and Malli accepts. [An interesting backstory here too: when very young, Arndt had slept with a housemaid who got pregnant and committed suicide. Racked with guilt, Arndt is determined to keep his relationship with Malli pure until the wedding.] All seems to be going well. But then comes the sudden news that the young crewman, Ferdinand is dead. Malli goes to visit his home, and she is devastated. On her return, Malli is different – she breaks off her engagement to Arndt saying that she has been unfaithful. But she did not love Ferdinand the man, but Ferdinand the character. Once she experienced the powerful, tumultuous, and perfectly choreographed passions of the world of make-believe, the quotidian emotions of the real world held no allure.
From the cold and spare landscapes of northern Norway, we move to the steamy environs of colonial Canton in The Immortal Story. The main character is Mr. Clay, a dying tea merchant, the richest in the city. His assistant Elishama is a reclusive young man, a refugee from the pogroms of Poland and the sole survivor of his family. Mr. Clay comes across this story, of a young sailor ashore after many months at sea, who encounters a strange old man in a bar. The old man has a beautiful young wife, but he is impotent and cannot father a child. He invites the sailor to his palatial home and first offers him a sumptuous meal and then a proposal: for five sovereigns (or gold coins or whatever), sleep with his wife and help her conceive. Elishama has come across versions of this story in many places, always as something someone has experienced himself or has heard from a friend. It is only an urban legend, says Elishama, the wish fulfillment fantasy of lonely men coming ashore after many months at sea and finding solace in the arms of ugly old prostitutes in some seedy brothel or furtive corner – and being forced to pay for the sorry privilege. But Mr. Clay wants to make it a reality: such a common fantasy needs to have happened to at least one person. He proposes to find a beautiful young woman to play the role of “wife,” (since Mr. Clay is a bachelor) and then cruise the bars to recruit a freshly arrived sailor. Elishama is charged with making it happen. He persuades Virginie, the wayward daughter of a French merchant, bankrupted and driven to suicide through Mr. Clay’s machinations, to come to Mr. Clay’s mansion to be the “wife.” [Irony: it is her own childhood home, that Mr. Clay expropriated from Virginie’s father.] Then, the Elishama and Mr. Clay find their sailor: a tall, blond and powerfully built young man of seventeen, but still innocent and idealistic and a virgin. The dinner and the proposition follow, the young man meets Virginie, and they spend the night together. But Mr. Clay’s endeavor to play God fails: the young man, in love with Virginie, declares that he will never speak about his night of bliss again.
The last long story is Ehrengard. In some pseudonymous German princely state, the prince has taken a pretty young wife to perpetuate the family line. But something happened, and the princess is about to give birth too soon, “a full two months before law and decency permitted.” An illegitimate heir is just the scandal that a cadet line of the family will need to undermine the royal house and make a claim for power. The news has to be suppressed at all costs. Enter Herr Cazotte, a famous painter, dilettante, and philanderer, whose specialty is nude paintings of noblewomen. On the Queen’s request, Herr Cazotte comes up with a plan to hide away the princess in a remote castle until the delivery, wait for two more months, and then announce the birth of the royal heir with great fanfare. A select group of courtiers and attendants, all sworn to secrecy accompany the princess. But Herr Cazotte, never a person to miss an opportunity, also requests Ehrengard, the daughter of a fiercely loyal military family to be sent as companion to the princess – the goal being that he would launch his seduction game on the young lady in the isolation of the castle. All goes according to plan and the baby is born in due time. But a local wetnurse proves to be the weak link in the chain: her husband, jealous that his young wife is spending more time in the castle than at home and complains about it to anyone who will listen. But there are the rival branch’s spies around and they suspect the truth – they induce the husband to lure the wetnurse and the baby outside the castle grounds on the promise of a fat reward. The man gets the woman and the infant outside on some pretext and then forces them into his cart and races away to the local inn where the handover is supposed to take place. But on the way, he has a change of heart, and he awaits in the inn not knowing what to do. Meanwhile the absence of the wetnurse and the prince has been noted in the castle. Both Ehrengard and Herr Cazotte, following different tracks, reach the inn. By coincidence, Ehrengard’s fiancé, a soldier, has also come to the inn. There is then a showdown: the husband claims that the baby is his own. Ehrengard denies it and says it has to be returned to the castle. But then, whose baby is it, asks the fiancé. “My own,” she says (knowing it will ruin her chance of marriage). And who is the father? She points to Herr Cazotte. The stunned fiancé accompanies the party to the castle – where he too is sworn to secrecy and the plot exposed to him. Ehrengard and the fiancé marry, and for her timely intervention, she earns the highest award in the land. It is implied that Herr Cazotte later on made his way to Venice, where he changed his name to Casanova.
A striking part of this story is Dinesen’s explication of the mentality of Herr Cazotte. Conquest, he says can be achieved by force, or my manipulating circumstances to induce a temporary weakness in the intended target. But for Cazotte, that is not enough. The target has to voluntarily and enthusiastically submit to the seduction, so much so that no other love later in life will appear satisfactory to them. Longing and discontent must be their condition for the rest of their lives. And he approaches seduction with a clinical and professional strategy, which might almost be called unemotional and coldly logical. His seduction is cold-bloodedly cruel, almost sadistic. It is not love, and not even power, but shades into misogyny.
There are also two shorter stories. In one, The Diver, a young student of theology in Shiraz thinks that birds must be closer to heaven because they inhabit the sky like the angels. If he could learn to fly from the birds, he could approach closer to God. The man tries so hard and seems on the verge of mastering flight, that the old divines in the city grow alarmed: they send a young courtesan to seduce him. Tasting her earthly delights, the young theologian loses his faith in angels: the beautiful Thusmu is now his religion. Years later, the author (Dinesen) relates this tale to a diver, reputed to be the best at recovering precious pearls from the bottom of the sea. The diver says he himself was the young theologian, but now he believes it is the fish that are perfect. Unlike the birds or humans, who are pulled down if they cease to struggle upward, fish are perfectly in match with their surroundings and move effortlessly. For them all creation is their domain. Honestly, I could not make much of this tale.
The last story is the shortest in the collection, The Ring. A newly wed woman goes with her husband to his sheep pen. There she hears her husband and the head keeper discuss a series of robberies in the neighborhood. A mysterious thief has been getting into sheep paddocks and massacring sheep in the most gruesome manner, almost like a wolf. He leaves blood and entrails at the scene disappearing leaving no trail. Guards at his last heist had broken his arm, but he had managed to get away. Leaving the men, the young woman decides to walk back home alone. Cutting through the woods, she meets a stranger in the densest part: his arm is hanging limply by his side, and he is hollow-eyed and ashen with pain and hunger. He advances towards her with a knife. The woman knows her honor and even her life is in danger, but she feels no fear. She takes off the ring from her finger and gives it to him. But he ignores it and it falls to the ground and rolls into the grass. But her little kerchief too has fallen to the ground. Wincing with pain, he picks it up, wraps his knife with it before sliding it into his sheath. Then he is gone. The woman makes her way back to the trail and soon meets up with her husband. She tells him she has lost her ring – the husband is perhaps disappointed that she should be so careless with it, and asks where she saw it last. “No idea,” she says.
A symbolic ending because the ring stands for love and marital fidelity. The couple had been childhood sweethearts, and it was after a long struggle with their families that they had earned the right to marry. Earlier in the story, she had said she would never have secrets from each other. But something changed in the forest encounter: perhaps she saw what she had not seen before in her innocence, that the world was a cruel and cold place, and that her own security and happiness was protected through the violent exclusion of lesser beings. Something might have also touched her, that a reviled and feared man, considered almost a beast had shown her mercy in letting her go, when it would have been safer for him to kill her on the spot. His gesture, in keeping her kerchief as a memento, also showed that even in the extremity of pain and danger, he regarded her as something beautiful and that he will treasure the memory of that fleeting encounter to the end of his life, that may be too soon in coming.
Babette’s Feast is probably the best known of the stories in the collection, made famous by the movie of the same name. Two unmarried sisters, the daughters of the leader of a reclusive religious sect, live together in a spartan home. They were both beauties when younger and had admirers: for the elder sister, a raffish young lieutenant sent up country to lie low after a scandal, and for the younger, a famous Parisian opera singer. But both leave, after being repulsed by the sisters. Years later, a young refugee turns up at their doorstep sent by the Parisian lover. Though it is not entirely clear why she had to escape, it is implied that she was perhaps part of the Paris Commune, crushed by the Royalists in 1871. The sisters take her in and she serves them as a maid. But Babette wins the lottery and prepares to leave for Paris – but before she leaves, she would like to throw them a feast. This is against the spartan religious ideals of the sisters, but they reluctantly agree. By coincidence, the elder sister’s lover, the raffish lieutenant who is now a general, has also returned. He too is invited to the dinner and comes mostly to validate the choice he made years ago to leave – he wants to experience again the bland food and simple life of the sisters, to confirm how boring his life would have been if he had stayed. But what he gets is a magnificent Parisian feast – for Babette, in addition to being a Communard, was also the celebrated chef at a great Paris restaurant. But the other guests treat the food as matter of fact, lest any approbation be seen as approval of Babette’s decadence. The stunned general is left with the impression that dining like this is a routine matter for them. But the ultimate irony is this: Babette has exhausted her lottery winnings and has no way of returning to Paris. Is this an allegory of earthly existence – that what we earn in this life is expended here itself, in transitory pleasures, with nothing left to take us back to where we belong?
In Tempests, an ageing celebrity stage actor, tired of the endless society rounds of Copenhagen, decides to start a touring theater company in the isolated regions of northern Norway. There he comes across a young actress, a complete novice, who he decides to take on as a protégé. She will play the role of Ariel in his production of The Tempest against his own Prospero. But she has an interesting backstory. She is the daughter of a Scottish sea captain, the survivor of a shipwreck, and a local laundress. He stayed long enough to repair his ship and conceive a child and then left promising to return. But he never did, and the woman raised Malli alone. Now Malli, along with the rest of the troupe, are traveling to a local city to stage the play. But a tempest breaks out, and the ship is in danger of sinking taking all crew and passengers to their death. Malli, fully taking on the role of Ariel in the play, labors through the night to save the ship with the help of a young seaman, Ferdinand. The ship is still afloat at daybreak and the overjoyed townsfolk receive the crew and especially Malli as heroes. Malli herself is taken in as a guest in the ship owner’s home, where the young son falls in love with Malli. He proposes marriage and Malli accepts. [An interesting backstory here too: when very young, Arndt had slept with a housemaid who got pregnant and committed suicide. Racked with guilt, Arndt is determined to keep his relationship with Malli pure until the wedding.] All seems to be going well. But then comes the sudden news that the young crewman, Ferdinand is dead. Malli goes to visit his home, and she is devastated. On her return, Malli is different – she breaks off her engagement to Arndt saying that she has been unfaithful. But she did not love Ferdinand the man, but Ferdinand the character. Once she experienced the powerful, tumultuous, and perfectly choreographed passions of the world of make-believe, the quotidian emotions of the real world held no allure.
From the cold and spare landscapes of northern Norway, we move to the steamy environs of colonial Canton in The Immortal Story. The main character is Mr. Clay, a dying tea merchant, the richest in the city. His assistant Elishama is a reclusive young man, a refugee from the pogroms of Poland and the sole survivor of his family. Mr. Clay comes across this story, of a young sailor ashore after many months at sea, who encounters a strange old man in a bar. The old man has a beautiful young wife, but he is impotent and cannot father a child. He invites the sailor to his palatial home and first offers him a sumptuous meal and then a proposal: for five sovereigns (or gold coins or whatever), sleep with his wife and help her conceive. Elishama has come across versions of this story in many places, always as something someone has experienced himself or has heard from a friend. It is only an urban legend, says Elishama, the wish fulfillment fantasy of lonely men coming ashore after many months at sea and finding solace in the arms of ugly old prostitutes in some seedy brothel or furtive corner – and being forced to pay for the sorry privilege. But Mr. Clay wants to make it a reality: such a common fantasy needs to have happened to at least one person. He proposes to find a beautiful young woman to play the role of “wife,” (since Mr. Clay is a bachelor) and then cruise the bars to recruit a freshly arrived sailor. Elishama is charged with making it happen. He persuades Virginie, the wayward daughter of a French merchant, bankrupted and driven to suicide through Mr. Clay’s machinations, to come to Mr. Clay’s mansion to be the “wife.” [Irony: it is her own childhood home, that Mr. Clay expropriated from Virginie’s father.] Then, the Elishama and Mr. Clay find their sailor: a tall, blond and powerfully built young man of seventeen, but still innocent and idealistic and a virgin. The dinner and the proposition follow, the young man meets Virginie, and they spend the night together. But Mr. Clay’s endeavor to play God fails: the young man, in love with Virginie, declares that he will never speak about his night of bliss again.
The last long story is Ehrengard. In some pseudonymous German princely state, the prince has taken a pretty young wife to perpetuate the family line. But something happened, and the princess is about to give birth too soon, “a full two months before law and decency permitted.” An illegitimate heir is just the scandal that a cadet line of the family will need to undermine the royal house and make a claim for power. The news has to be suppressed at all costs. Enter Herr Cazotte, a famous painter, dilettante, and philanderer, whose specialty is nude paintings of noblewomen. On the Queen’s request, Herr Cazotte comes up with a plan to hide away the princess in a remote castle until the delivery, wait for two more months, and then announce the birth of the royal heir with great fanfare. A select group of courtiers and attendants, all sworn to secrecy accompany the princess. But Herr Cazotte, never a person to miss an opportunity, also requests Ehrengard, the daughter of a fiercely loyal military family to be sent as companion to the princess – the goal being that he would launch his seduction game on the young lady in the isolation of the castle. All goes according to plan and the baby is born in due time. But a local wetnurse proves to be the weak link in the chain: her husband, jealous that his young wife is spending more time in the castle than at home and complains about it to anyone who will listen. But there are the rival branch’s spies around and they suspect the truth – they induce the husband to lure the wetnurse and the baby outside the castle grounds on the promise of a fat reward. The man gets the woman and the infant outside on some pretext and then forces them into his cart and races away to the local inn where the handover is supposed to take place. But on the way, he has a change of heart, and he awaits in the inn not knowing what to do. Meanwhile the absence of the wetnurse and the prince has been noted in the castle. Both Ehrengard and Herr Cazotte, following different tracks, reach the inn. By coincidence, Ehrengard’s fiancé, a soldier, has also come to the inn. There is then a showdown: the husband claims that the baby is his own. Ehrengard denies it and says it has to be returned to the castle. But then, whose baby is it, asks the fiancé. “My own,” she says (knowing it will ruin her chance of marriage). And who is the father? She points to Herr Cazotte. The stunned fiancé accompanies the party to the castle – where he too is sworn to secrecy and the plot exposed to him. Ehrengard and the fiancé marry, and for her timely intervention, she earns the highest award in the land. It is implied that Herr Cazotte later on made his way to Venice, where he changed his name to Casanova.
A striking part of this story is Dinesen’s explication of the mentality of Herr Cazotte. Conquest, he says can be achieved by force, or my manipulating circumstances to induce a temporary weakness in the intended target. But for Cazotte, that is not enough. The target has to voluntarily and enthusiastically submit to the seduction, so much so that no other love later in life will appear satisfactory to them. Longing and discontent must be their condition for the rest of their lives. And he approaches seduction with a clinical and professional strategy, which might almost be called unemotional and coldly logical. His seduction is cold-bloodedly cruel, almost sadistic. It is not love, and not even power, but shades into misogyny.
There are also two shorter stories. In one, The Diver, a young student of theology in Shiraz thinks that birds must be closer to heaven because they inhabit the sky like the angels. If he could learn to fly from the birds, he could approach closer to God. The man tries so hard and seems on the verge of mastering flight, that the old divines in the city grow alarmed: they send a young courtesan to seduce him. Tasting her earthly delights, the young theologian loses his faith in angels: the beautiful Thusmu is now his religion. Years later, the author (Dinesen) relates this tale to a diver, reputed to be the best at recovering precious pearls from the bottom of the sea. The diver says he himself was the young theologian, but now he believes it is the fish that are perfect. Unlike the birds or humans, who are pulled down if they cease to struggle upward, fish are perfectly in match with their surroundings and move effortlessly. For them all creation is their domain. Honestly, I could not make much of this tale.
The last story is the shortest in the collection, The Ring. A newly wed woman goes with her husband to his sheep pen. There she hears her husband and the head keeper discuss a series of robberies in the neighborhood. A mysterious thief has been getting into sheep paddocks and massacring sheep in the most gruesome manner, almost like a wolf. He leaves blood and entrails at the scene disappearing leaving no trail. Guards at his last heist had broken his arm, but he had managed to get away. Leaving the men, the young woman decides to walk back home alone. Cutting through the woods, she meets a stranger in the densest part: his arm is hanging limply by his side, and he is hollow-eyed and ashen with pain and hunger. He advances towards her with a knife. The woman knows her honor and even her life is in danger, but she feels no fear. She takes off the ring from her finger and gives it to him. But he ignores it and it falls to the ground and rolls into the grass. But her little kerchief too has fallen to the ground. Wincing with pain, he picks it up, wraps his knife with it before sliding it into his sheath. Then he is gone. The woman makes her way back to the trail and soon meets up with her husband. She tells him she has lost her ring – the husband is perhaps disappointed that she should be so careless with it, and asks where she saw it last. “No idea,” she says.
A symbolic ending because the ring stands for love and marital fidelity. The couple had been childhood sweethearts, and it was after a long struggle with their families that they had earned the right to marry. Earlier in the story, she had said she would never have secrets from each other. But something changed in the forest encounter: perhaps she saw what she had not seen before in her innocence, that the world was a cruel and cold place, and that her own security and happiness was protected through the violent exclusion of lesser beings. Something might have also touched her, that a reviled and feared man, considered almost a beast had shown her mercy in letting her go, when it would have been safer for him to kill her on the spot. His gesture, in keeping her kerchief as a memento, also showed that even in the extremity of pain and danger, he regarded her as something beautiful and that he will treasure the memory of that fleeting encounter to the end of his life, that may be too soon in coming.
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August 6, 2019I. Martine and Phillipa are two sisters, both in their late 40s, who live in a coastal town on a fjord in Norway called Berlevaag. The sisters have a maid-in-waiting named Babette, who is a refugee from France.
II. Martine's Lover - Martine, the oldest, first attracts an admirer at 18. The young officer Lorens Loewenhielm sees Martine in town and must see her again. Through his aunt, Lorens gets invited to the Dean's dinner table, but he has nothing to say to the lovely Martine. On the last day of his stay in Berlevaag, Lorens kisses Martine's hand and cries out in despair a farewell to her. The young officer forces himself to forget Martine, and soon marries a woman close to Queen Sophia.
III. Philippa's Lover - A year later, the singer Achille Papin of Paris visits Norway to sing at the Opera, and he happens to hear Phillipa sing. He convinces the Dean to let him give Phillippa singing lessons. Achille tells Phillippa that she will be a great singer in Paris. He teaches her the part of Zerlina, and sings Don Giovanni, in Mozart's famous seduction scene. The duet is sublime, but then Achille dares to kiss Phillippa at the end. Phillippa has her father end the singing lessons, and Achille leaves town in sorrow.
IV. A Letter from Paris— Fifteen years later, in 1871, a woman comes to the home of Martine and Phillippa, and gives them a letter from France. The letter is by Achille Papin, and it tells of the woman Babette's suffering in the recent war and revolution in Paris, France. Babette becomes the family servant.
V. Still Life— Babette adjusts to her new life as a servant to the sisters and the larger religious sect group. Soon she learns to prepare the simple fish and soup that Martine and Phillippa are used to. Babette's one connection to France is that she has a friend who renews her ticket every year in the lottery, in which the winner receives 10,000 francs.
VI. Babette's Good Luck— The sisters are nervous as the 100th birthday of their late father, the Dean, approaches on December 15th. It is still only summer, and Babette Hersant gets a notice that she has won the lottery. The sisters congratulate Babette, but they feel sad because they expect that Babette will now return to France. Many in the religious sect are also sad at the prospect of Babette leaving. Babette announces in September that she wants to prepare a real French dinner to celebrate the Dean's hundredth birthday. The sisters reluctantly agree. Even more reluctantly, they agree to allow Babette to pay for the dinner with her own money. Babette shows her happiness and desire to make the dinner, and is very satisfied to win this favor. The sisters are totally surprised because they had little intention of celebrating the Dean's birthday.
VII. The Turtle— Babette goes away and meets her nephew in the port of Christiana in order to arrange to get the supplies she needs for the dinner from France. The sisters are amazed at a tortoise and much wine arriving. A red-headed sailor boy helps Babette with the tortoise and her kitchen preparations. Martine is upset over the extravagant ingredients, and goes to an elderly lady in her religious sect to ask advice. The religious sect members decide to avoid making any complaints or praise of the meal in honor of the Dean.
I. The two women's father, the Dean is the founder of a pious religious sect. Somehow the Dean marries and has two children, although it seems as if few of the other sect members have children, and that the sect is slowly dying out. II. When they are young, both girls are very pretty. Now, they radiate a simple purity, but their hair is turning gray. Martine rejects her fairly obvious suitor Lorens, who comes to her father's dinner table, without giving him a chance.
III. Achille Papin visits the coastal town of Berlevaag, and at church hears the beautiful voice of Phillipa. Achille is a determined man of 40, and explains to the Dean, Philippa's father, that he must give singing lessons to Phillippa. The Dean, though surprised and afraid of Catholics, has some affection for the French and agrees. In this case too, the man's love is useless. Phillipa refuses to see him again after he has kissed her. An ongoing theme of the story is the interacting of the pious Dean and his daughters, and the French Catholics who are known for their extravagant lifestyle.
IV. Babette is thought to be some sort of revolutionary, and yet there is a strong ambivalence about this. She quickly settles down into a positive role at the sisters' house. Later, it comes out that she had been a cook at a cafe that catered to the very wealthy. Babette brings a letter from Achille Papin that also refers to the world losing the operatic voice of Phillippa. Babette is smuggled by her nephew to Norway, and is told by Achille to come to the home of the two ladies. Babette becomes a servant in the ladies' house for the next 12 years. It may be thought that Babette would become resentful under this condition, but the opposite is the case.
V. Free food is prepared for members of the sect, many of whom are likely in dire poverty because of their emphasis on piety. There is some tension because Babette is French Catholic, but the sisters try to show their Lutheran faith through their pious life, rather than forcing Babette to convert.
VI. The sect members are getting old and remember old fights and guilt over old crimes. Indeed, they are so overwhelmed by bitterness that only the outsider, Babette, can make a true celebration occur of the hundredth birthday of the Dean.
VII. Babette simultaneously is the most ardent follower of the Dean and the bringer of the dreaded French luxury goods and decadence. The goods arrive and include a set of bottles of wine with fancy names and finally a large tortoise. Nevertheless, the sisters Martine and Phillippa do not want to cause a scene in their reaction to the strange coming banquet. In this restraint, they show the positive side of their religious faith.
VIII. The Hymn— It is a snowy morning in December and the sisters receive a note that old Mrs. Loewenhielm will attend the dinner along with her nephew the General. The sisters make sure the house smells nice. The day of the dinner, the old religious brethren arrive and sing hymns. Martine and Phillippa are reassured by the singing, including Phillippa's still fine voice.
IX. General Loewenhielm— General Loewenhielm is returning to Berlevaag for the first time in 30 years. He wants to reassure himself that he made the right choice long ago in abandoning his desire to win Martine. He recalls when he decided to marry his wife one day in Paris at a fine restaurant.
X. Babette's Dinner— Grace is said by the oldest of the group. Then the General realizes that the first course is Blinis Demidoff, a rich course that he knows from Paris. A woman remembers a miracle when the ice froze overnight and let the Dean come to town to give a sermon for Christmas. Champagne is then served, with the General drinking his fill. The General is drunk on the expensive wine and decides to give a speech.
XI. General Loewenhielm's Speech— The General makes a speech on the theme of the necessity of receiving grace from God. For the rest of the meal, the old sect members become friendly and forgive each other of their old grudges. The old pair of lovers has a long kiss in the corner, despite how life had made them bitter against each other. The congregation feels heavenly grace. When the General leaves Martine he assures her that he will think of her for the rest of his life. The snow stops in time for all to leave safely, but then an hour later it snows very heavily.
XII. The Great Artist— After the dinner, Babette is exhausted. She had served the 12 people a dinner like that at the Café, which cost her 10,000 francs. The sisters are stunned. Martine thinks of a missionary to Africa who unbeknownst to him eats a cannibal feast. Phillippa, the singer, understands better when Babette proclaims that she is a true artist. Babette can never cook for the royal guests she once served at the Café Anglais. In Paris, Babette rebelled against the ruling class and was forced to flee. Phillippa hugs Babette and assures her that she also will be an artist in paradise.
VIII. Martine and Phillippa are happy that their old friend, now General Loewenhielm is coming over. Babette and her helper set the table with elegant tableware. It is a relief to the sisters that the day of the dinner has finally arrived, and they are willing to use their faith in order to bear whatever trials it may contain. IX. General Lowenhielm, the old admirer of Martine, has aged along with everyone else. Now he is a friend of the royal court and married to a fine woman. The General wonders if he has achieved the dreams of his young adulthood. This is why the General is at the dinner with his old aunt. His thoughts of a Parisian restaurant are a strange foreshadowing of the coming event.
X. The General realizes that the wine poured is a very distinguished Amontillado, a type of sherry. People seem relaxed and there is chatting. The religious sect members eat the food without comment, while the General notes another spectacular dish that he remembers from Paris. Only the General is conscious of the magnificent expense involved in the dinner, with the sect members pretending that they are eating ordinary food.
XI. The General gives a speech in which he lavishly praises the Dean, the founder of the religious sect. The speech is somewhat odd, in that it disagrees with the General's worldly point of view. He is enjoying the best of both worlds, the piety of the sect, and the remarkable food and wine of the evening.
XII. The sisters assure Babette that she had prepared a nice dinner. Babette tells them that she once was the cook at the Café Anglais. Only when Babette tells them that the 10,000 francs was spent on the dinner, do they realize Babette's devotion to them.
II. Martine's Lover - Martine, the oldest, first attracts an admirer at 18. The young officer Lorens Loewenhielm sees Martine in town and must see her again. Through his aunt, Lorens gets invited to the Dean's dinner table, but he has nothing to say to the lovely Martine. On the last day of his stay in Berlevaag, Lorens kisses Martine's hand and cries out in despair a farewell to her. The young officer forces himself to forget Martine, and soon marries a woman close to Queen Sophia.
III. Philippa's Lover - A year later, the singer Achille Papin of Paris visits Norway to sing at the Opera, and he happens to hear Phillipa sing. He convinces the Dean to let him give Phillippa singing lessons. Achille tells Phillippa that she will be a great singer in Paris. He teaches her the part of Zerlina, and sings Don Giovanni, in Mozart's famous seduction scene. The duet is sublime, but then Achille dares to kiss Phillippa at the end. Phillippa has her father end the singing lessons, and Achille leaves town in sorrow.
IV. A Letter from Paris— Fifteen years later, in 1871, a woman comes to the home of Martine and Phillippa, and gives them a letter from France. The letter is by Achille Papin, and it tells of the woman Babette's suffering in the recent war and revolution in Paris, France. Babette becomes the family servant.
V. Still Life— Babette adjusts to her new life as a servant to the sisters and the larger religious sect group. Soon she learns to prepare the simple fish and soup that Martine and Phillippa are used to. Babette's one connection to France is that she has a friend who renews her ticket every year in the lottery, in which the winner receives 10,000 francs.
VI. Babette's Good Luck— The sisters are nervous as the 100th birthday of their late father, the Dean, approaches on December 15th. It is still only summer, and Babette Hersant gets a notice that she has won the lottery. The sisters congratulate Babette, but they feel sad because they expect that Babette will now return to France. Many in the religious sect are also sad at the prospect of Babette leaving. Babette announces in September that she wants to prepare a real French dinner to celebrate the Dean's hundredth birthday. The sisters reluctantly agree. Even more reluctantly, they agree to allow Babette to pay for the dinner with her own money. Babette shows her happiness and desire to make the dinner, and is very satisfied to win this favor. The sisters are totally surprised because they had little intention of celebrating the Dean's birthday.
VII. The Turtle— Babette goes away and meets her nephew in the port of Christiana in order to arrange to get the supplies she needs for the dinner from France. The sisters are amazed at a tortoise and much wine arriving. A red-headed sailor boy helps Babette with the tortoise and her kitchen preparations. Martine is upset over the extravagant ingredients, and goes to an elderly lady in her religious sect to ask advice. The religious sect members decide to avoid making any complaints or praise of the meal in honor of the Dean.
I. The two women's father, the Dean is the founder of a pious religious sect. Somehow the Dean marries and has two children, although it seems as if few of the other sect members have children, and that the sect is slowly dying out. II. When they are young, both girls are very pretty. Now, they radiate a simple purity, but their hair is turning gray. Martine rejects her fairly obvious suitor Lorens, who comes to her father's dinner table, without giving him a chance.
III. Achille Papin visits the coastal town of Berlevaag, and at church hears the beautiful voice of Phillipa. Achille is a determined man of 40, and explains to the Dean, Philippa's father, that he must give singing lessons to Phillippa. The Dean, though surprised and afraid of Catholics, has some affection for the French and agrees. In this case too, the man's love is useless. Phillipa refuses to see him again after he has kissed her. An ongoing theme of the story is the interacting of the pious Dean and his daughters, and the French Catholics who are known for their extravagant lifestyle.
IV. Babette is thought to be some sort of revolutionary, and yet there is a strong ambivalence about this. She quickly settles down into a positive role at the sisters' house. Later, it comes out that she had been a cook at a cafe that catered to the very wealthy. Babette brings a letter from Achille Papin that also refers to the world losing the operatic voice of Phillippa. Babette is smuggled by her nephew to Norway, and is told by Achille to come to the home of the two ladies. Babette becomes a servant in the ladies' house for the next 12 years. It may be thought that Babette would become resentful under this condition, but the opposite is the case.
V. Free food is prepared for members of the sect, many of whom are likely in dire poverty because of their emphasis on piety. There is some tension because Babette is French Catholic, but the sisters try to show their Lutheran faith through their pious life, rather than forcing Babette to convert.
VI. The sect members are getting old and remember old fights and guilt over old crimes. Indeed, they are so overwhelmed by bitterness that only the outsider, Babette, can make a true celebration occur of the hundredth birthday of the Dean.
VII. Babette simultaneously is the most ardent follower of the Dean and the bringer of the dreaded French luxury goods and decadence. The goods arrive and include a set of bottles of wine with fancy names and finally a large tortoise. Nevertheless, the sisters Martine and Phillippa do not want to cause a scene in their reaction to the strange coming banquet. In this restraint, they show the positive side of their religious faith.
VIII. The Hymn— It is a snowy morning in December and the sisters receive a note that old Mrs. Loewenhielm will attend the dinner along with her nephew the General. The sisters make sure the house smells nice. The day of the dinner, the old religious brethren arrive and sing hymns. Martine and Phillippa are reassured by the singing, including Phillippa's still fine voice.
IX. General Loewenhielm— General Loewenhielm is returning to Berlevaag for the first time in 30 years. He wants to reassure himself that he made the right choice long ago in abandoning his desire to win Martine. He recalls when he decided to marry his wife one day in Paris at a fine restaurant.
X. Babette's Dinner— Grace is said by the oldest of the group. Then the General realizes that the first course is Blinis Demidoff, a rich course that he knows from Paris. A woman remembers a miracle when the ice froze overnight and let the Dean come to town to give a sermon for Christmas. Champagne is then served, with the General drinking his fill. The General is drunk on the expensive wine and decides to give a speech.
XI. General Loewenhielm's Speech— The General makes a speech on the theme of the necessity of receiving grace from God. For the rest of the meal, the old sect members become friendly and forgive each other of their old grudges. The old pair of lovers has a long kiss in the corner, despite how life had made them bitter against each other. The congregation feels heavenly grace. When the General leaves Martine he assures her that he will think of her for the rest of his life. The snow stops in time for all to leave safely, but then an hour later it snows very heavily.
XII. The Great Artist— After the dinner, Babette is exhausted. She had served the 12 people a dinner like that at the Café, which cost her 10,000 francs. The sisters are stunned. Martine thinks of a missionary to Africa who unbeknownst to him eats a cannibal feast. Phillippa, the singer, understands better when Babette proclaims that she is a true artist. Babette can never cook for the royal guests she once served at the Café Anglais. In Paris, Babette rebelled against the ruling class and was forced to flee. Phillippa hugs Babette and assures her that she also will be an artist in paradise.
VIII. Martine and Phillippa are happy that their old friend, now General Loewenhielm is coming over. Babette and her helper set the table with elegant tableware. It is a relief to the sisters that the day of the dinner has finally arrived, and they are willing to use their faith in order to bear whatever trials it may contain. IX. General Lowenhielm, the old admirer of Martine, has aged along with everyone else. Now he is a friend of the royal court and married to a fine woman. The General wonders if he has achieved the dreams of his young adulthood. This is why the General is at the dinner with his old aunt. His thoughts of a Parisian restaurant are a strange foreshadowing of the coming event.
X. The General realizes that the wine poured is a very distinguished Amontillado, a type of sherry. People seem relaxed and there is chatting. The religious sect members eat the food without comment, while the General notes another spectacular dish that he remembers from Paris. Only the General is conscious of the magnificent expense involved in the dinner, with the sect members pretending that they are eating ordinary food.
XI. The General gives a speech in which he lavishly praises the Dean, the founder of the religious sect. The speech is somewhat odd, in that it disagrees with the General's worldly point of view. He is enjoying the best of both worlds, the piety of the sect, and the remarkable food and wine of the evening.
XII. The sisters assure Babette that she had prepared a nice dinner. Babette tells them that she once was the cook at the Café Anglais. Only when Babette tells them that the 10,000 francs was spent on the dinner, do they realize Babette's devotion to them.
January 4, 2021
I read a few Dinesen stories for a class in college (I believe we read "The Cardinal's First Tale" and one other one), and I really liked them, so I had always wanted to check out more from her. Finally got around to it with this book, and I found it a little disappointing. Overall this was solid, but I just tired of Dinesen's style by the end and didn't even finish Ehrengard. I think I would like each of these stories individually more than I did reading them all back-to-back, as they all feel very similar and got old pretty quickly.
The Diver: 3/5. Cool story, nothing spectacular.
Babette's Feast: 4/5. It's a classic for a reason. Liked this one a lot.
Tempests: 2/5. Definitely the worst of the ones I read. I liked it at the beginning, but it just dragged on and on and then just kinda ended. I just didn't see the point of it.
The Immortal Story: 5/5. Best one in the collection. Really interesting concept. Read all ~65 pages of this one in one sitting, which I didn't do for any of the other longer stories.
Ehrengard: Didn't finish. Read the first few pages and just knew it it wouldn't hold my interest at this point in time. This doesn't mean I think this is a bad story - it just means that I was very tired of Dinesen's style by this point. I'm sure I'll come back and finish this last story at some point.
The Diver: 3/5. Cool story, nothing spectacular.
Babette's Feast: 4/5. It's a classic for a reason. Liked this one a lot.
Tempests: 2/5. Definitely the worst of the ones I read. I liked it at the beginning, but it just dragged on and on and then just kinda ended. I just didn't see the point of it.
The Immortal Story: 5/5. Best one in the collection. Really interesting concept. Read all ~65 pages of this one in one sitting, which I didn't do for any of the other longer stories.
Ehrengard: Didn't finish. Read the first few pages and just knew it it wouldn't hold my interest at this point in time. This doesn't mean I think this is a bad story - it just means that I was very tired of Dinesen's style by this point. I'm sure I'll come back and finish this last story at some point.
September 5, 2013
As I have only read the Immortal Story I can only comment on how I feel about that one. The story was okay and was a lot better than most stories I have to read in school. I did like how the story flowed and how it did not focus solely on one character the whole time. The characters themselves were pretty good as well. The only reason I do not really like the story is that it is not my usual cup of tea. I do not usually read stories like this unless it is for school and even then I do not like it as much as I would reading a different book outside of class. Overall the story was decent and seemed complete. I think it is a good story to read If having a more realistic setting is more your thing.
June 2, 2017
Babette's Feast, one of the short stories in this book, is an exceptional commendation of love, compassion, and excellence in aesthetic creativity, and by far my favorite of this collection. "Through all the world there goes one long cry from the heart of the artist: Give me leave to do my utmost!" (I also highly recommend the masterfully film directed by Gabriel Axel drawn from this story.) The Diver and Tempests (other stories in this book) are also worth a read for the drama of their pensively thoughtful and vivid storytelling.
Came back later and finished off The Immortal Story, The Ring, and Ehrengard. I didn't think they were quite as good, particularly the Ring.
Came back later and finished off The Immortal Story, The Ring, and Ehrengard. I didn't think they were quite as good, particularly the Ring.
September 5, 2013
I only read the Immortal Story, so it's hard to write an accurate review. Nevertheless, I found the story rather boring, and ongoing for a lack of better words. The plot wasn't as bad as expected, but I believe if one was not required to read the story, you wouldn't. There isn't enough excitement to keep a person interested. It's very, very dull. The ending of the story is one out of a horrible movie.
September 5, 2013
I was sadly only able to read the Immortal Story, but then again it was kind of a boring book. If someone had just laid this book in front of me and told me i could read it if i wanted to, i most likely would have read the first chapter then i would have thrown it across the room because the first couple chapters were that boring. I will however say that towards the end of the story it picked up a little speed and did get more interesting.
April 24, 2016
More like a ".5" All the stories were written in the same dry fashion, underdeveloped characters and hardly any creativity.
January 6, 2023
4.5
Dinesen is yet another writer I’ve long neglected, her colonial past, most (in)famously Out of Africa, made me wary of her. These stories have surprised & delighted me greatly with their wit, insight and vivid imagination. They are imbued with profound irony, haunting in their spiritual resonance and reminiscent of old allegories and fables.
Some of the characters think they can play like the gods, trying to rearrange the lives of humans like dolls in a dollhouse. They forget that they are part of the play as well and in every move they make to create someone else’s destiny they are also shaping their own. Others, so sure of their fates, are blind to how they shape their own futures and that of others.
Tragedy as comedy. Comedy as tragedy. Don’t dismiss “the value of what is named a comedy, in which a man may at last speak the truth.” (Though sometimes comedy is just pure comedy, as when a character, feeling awesome in his own sense of power, tries to make a dramatic exit from a room, gets his fancy robe caught in the door & has to open and close the door twice to free himself.)
The presences of Dinesen’s fellow countrymen Hans Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard are throughout. The former an inspiration for imagination, tales both beautiful and brutal. The latter inspiration for subversion, responses to Kierkegaard’s own views on aestheticism and faith, romance & seduction, spirituality, the intermingling of it all.
Like the wine imbibed by elderly religious ascetics in Babette’s Feast who fear that attending a sumptuous French dinner party will be like some kind of witches’ sabbath, but who find out that a bit of delicious wine does wonders for their spiritual progress, these stories go to both the head & the heart. I enjoyed these greatly, especially Babette's Feast, The Immortal Story, and Ehrengard.
Dinesen is yet another writer I’ve long neglected, her colonial past, most (in)famously Out of Africa, made me wary of her. These stories have surprised & delighted me greatly with their wit, insight and vivid imagination. They are imbued with profound irony, haunting in their spiritual resonance and reminiscent of old allegories and fables.
Some of the characters think they can play like the gods, trying to rearrange the lives of humans like dolls in a dollhouse. They forget that they are part of the play as well and in every move they make to create someone else’s destiny they are also shaping their own. Others, so sure of their fates, are blind to how they shape their own futures and that of others.
Tragedy as comedy. Comedy as tragedy. Don’t dismiss “the value of what is named a comedy, in which a man may at last speak the truth.” (Though sometimes comedy is just pure comedy, as when a character, feeling awesome in his own sense of power, tries to make a dramatic exit from a room, gets his fancy robe caught in the door & has to open and close the door twice to free himself.)
The presences of Dinesen’s fellow countrymen Hans Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard are throughout. The former an inspiration for imagination, tales both beautiful and brutal. The latter inspiration for subversion, responses to Kierkegaard’s own views on aestheticism and faith, romance & seduction, spirituality, the intermingling of it all.
Like the wine imbibed by elderly religious ascetics in Babette’s Feast who fear that attending a sumptuous French dinner party will be like some kind of witches’ sabbath, but who find out that a bit of delicious wine does wonders for their spiritual progress, these stories go to both the head & the heart. I enjoyed these greatly, especially Babette's Feast, The Immortal Story, and Ehrengard.
May 20, 2025
I'm not fond of reading short stories but was prompted to read "Babette's Feast" after seeing the movie. It was probably good to see the movie first to get a more detailed feeling for the story, as it is rather short (38 pages) The sisters Martine and Philippa are brought to spartan ways through their father who had founded "a pious ecclesiastic... sect... that renounced all pleasures." Their dad saw them as tools for his religion; they believed him and later renounced love and fame for themselves. But one spurned acquaintance asked that the now-spinsters take in Babette as housekeeper and rescue her in her flight from war-torn France. After 31 years, and luck with the French lottery, Babette shows her appreciation with a grand feast, to show them what food should taste like. The sisters are afraid of the dinner (Will there be frogs?) but invite the entire elderly sectarians, who, not wanting to affront either the sisters or Babette, vow to not say one word about the food, good or bad.
In "The Ring" a woman is "married to poverty, persecution, total loneliness ...[the] sorrows and sinfulness of this earth. 206 "She was turned away by an impatient husband to whom his sheep meant more than his wife. In hoping to reverse that, she thinks to hide in a copse, only to find the bruised thief who had been stealing sheep. She thinks her wedding ring might tempt him to leave her alone.
Ehrengard is a beautiful story about her seduction by a notorious artist and how she used that to save her mistress, whose baby was conceived out of wedlock.
In "The Ring" a woman is "married to poverty, persecution, total loneliness ...[the] sorrows and sinfulness of this earth. 206 "She was turned away by an impatient husband to whom his sheep meant more than his wife. In hoping to reverse that, she thinks to hide in a copse, only to find the bruised thief who had been stealing sheep. She thinks her wedding ring might tempt him to leave her alone.
Ehrengard is a beautiful story about her seduction by a notorious artist and how she used that to save her mistress, whose baby was conceived out of wedlock.
July 19, 2019
To me this is a selection of lyrical, jewel-box fairy-tales, with just enough postmodern self-awareness to give them a little spice. If I'd read them all in a row I suspect I might have found them a bit precious, but spread out over time they were like enjoying tales told by a hyperliterate, semi-ironic grandma, stories I knew were leaving out things I'd understand better when I was older, the mystery of which gave them a pungent flavor of past times that overcame any overly mannered or purple passages.
The stories are in many ways about our own reliance on stories to structure our own lives - be we a traveling theater troupe beset by a literal tempest, a Ruritanian painter seeking the perfect artistic seduction, or, in the case of the most famous story of the bunch, "Babette's Feast," a pair of puritanical Scandinavian sisters whose world is given new meaning by the hidden talents of a servant. These are perfect (sometimes too perfect) pearls in a long chain of tales, reverent yet playful in their appropriation of a legendary past.
The stories are in many ways about our own reliance on stories to structure our own lives - be we a traveling theater troupe beset by a literal tempest, a Ruritanian painter seeking the perfect artistic seduction, or, in the case of the most famous story of the bunch, "Babette's Feast," a pair of puritanical Scandinavian sisters whose world is given new meaning by the hidden talents of a servant. These are perfect (sometimes too perfect) pearls in a long chain of tales, reverent yet playful in their appropriation of a legendary past.
November 3, 2022
During a recent conversation with an Episcopal priest, she mentioned Babette's Feast. Not the movie, which I love, but the short story by Isak Dinesen. "Oh man," I said. "I really should get around to reading that."
So I did, along with the rest of this collection. Karen Blixen's (the actual name of Dinesen) work makes for a fascinating read, as it's both fresh and steeped in her unique blend of cultures. The sensibility is Scandinavian, yet...not. Formal and personal, spiritual and earthy, it's full of odd dichotomies.
Babette's Feast is a wonderful read, and the telling is as rich as the film. The other tales in this collection were hit or miss for me, often within the same story. "The Diver," for example, is moving and delightful and mythic, and then just sort of wanders into a peculiar philosophical musing about the spirituality of fish. Is there a connection between the two sections? Sort of, but it feels a stretch.
Brilliant, but sometimes just the teensiest bit turgid. A three point seven five.
So I did, along with the rest of this collection. Karen Blixen's (the actual name of Dinesen) work makes for a fascinating read, as it's both fresh and steeped in her unique blend of cultures. The sensibility is Scandinavian, yet...not. Formal and personal, spiritual and earthy, it's full of odd dichotomies.
Babette's Feast is a wonderful read, and the telling is as rich as the film. The other tales in this collection were hit or miss for me, often within the same story. "The Diver," for example, is moving and delightful and mythic, and then just sort of wanders into a peculiar philosophical musing about the spirituality of fish. Is there a connection between the two sections? Sort of, but it feels a stretch.
Brilliant, but sometimes just the teensiest bit turgid. A three point seven five.
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October 29, 2023Ehrengard was recently made into a movie with sumptuous costumes and sets designed by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, so I'm sure I'm not the only one who saw the film on Netflix and then decided to read the novella. I can't imagine anyone reading the original calling it a "witty, delightful romp, reminiscent of Shakespeare" - which is one description of the movie. The tale itself is much more complex, and full of darker nuances about the nature of art and love. I look forward to discussing it with my Danish book club, although I did read it in English. Karen Blixen, the real name of author Isak Dinesen, originally published the tale in English. In fact, it wasn't translated into her native language of Danish until after she passed away - but she is a master of storytelling in either language.
Please note that I don't use the star rating system, so this review should not be viewed as a zero.
Please note that I don't use the star rating system, so this review should not be viewed as a zero.
May 4, 2020
Fascinating! Although Hogarth publishers in the 21st century have encouraged contemporary writers to retell Shakespeare's plays (I've previously reviewed "Hag-Seed," by Margaret Atwood), it's not a new theme. While "Babette's Feast" is the most famous of the short works in this collection, this review is solely of Dinesen's novella "Tempests." One of the few works she wrote in Danish, the reader is of course handicapped by the translation. I'll credit that for the slow start, but as the tale goes on, Dinesen's transpositions of the characters with their dramatic personae offer an incredibly nuanced analysis of life and art, especially viewed in light of her own biography and her struggles to reconcile the two. Worth reading and re-reading.
January 7, 2022
My reaction to these stories was mixed. Many reviewers here speak of them as like fairy tales - yes, I agree. Or perhaps fables. They often had mystical aspects, and a lesson. On the other hand the lesson was not always clear to me - I could feel it slipping from my grasp. Dinesen has a cozy way of writing, with charming little details, and intriguing but slightly off-putting details. The tone could verge on ominous, but also have instances of delight. I think small doses are best. And not as you are dozing off...
October 3, 2022
Like other reviewers, I too picked up the book because I had seen the movie, "Babette's Feast" and loved it, I wanted to read the story. The movie did such a fantastic job of story telling that I kept thinking of the scenes as I read the story. I do believe I liked the movie better than the "book", but I so enjoyed seeing how the producers followed the story, it was perfect. As for the rest of the stories in this book....not so great. I read "The Diver", ho-hum....and "The Tempest"....such a disappointing ending...."The Ring" because it was short...blah! I didn't bother with the other stories. Apparently Gothic lierature is not for me.
March 16, 2019
Very much what A.D. Jansen said in their Goodreads review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
(Couldn't have put it better myself. Not recognized enough; Borges; little variation but genius at what she does.)
Weakest stories: "Tempests" and "The Ring". Most fun & light-hearted story: "Ehrengard". Best stories: "Babette's Feast" and "The Immortal Story" - the last almost a parody of an O. Henry story, or of the darker origins of an O. Henry story, maybe.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
(Couldn't have put it better myself. Not recognized enough; Borges; little variation but genius at what she does.)
Weakest stories: "Tempests" and "The Ring". Most fun & light-hearted story: "Ehrengard". Best stories: "Babette's Feast" and "The Immortal Story" - the last almost a parody of an O. Henry story, or of the darker origins of an O. Henry story, maybe.
February 17, 2020
My first experience reading Isak Dinensen (Karen Blixen) was one that will be impossible to liberate from my heart and mind for some time to come. The six stories contained in this volume are grandly poetic, adventurous explorations in love, faith, heartbreak, and the power of storytelling, written in the most evocative language. The stories "Babette's Feast", "Tempests", and "The Immortal Story" had me spellbound.
December 15, 2024
Το βιβλίο είναι μια συλλογή διηγημάτων που εξερευνά θέματα μοίρας, αγάπης και υπαρξιακής πάλης. Τα παραμύθια συχνά παρουσιάζουν χαρακτήρες που αντιμετωπίζουν απρόβλεπτα γεγονότα που αλλάζουν τη ζωή, όπου τα όρια μεταξύ επιλογής και πεπρωμένου γίνονται ασαφή, οδηγώντας σε απροσδόκητα και μερικές φορές τραγικά αποτελέσματα.
Το στυλ γραφής της χαρακτηρίζεται από πλούσια, περιγραφική πεζογραφία και μια βαθιά εξερεύνηση της ανθρώπινης ψυχολογίας. Μου άρεσε αρκετά καθώς αναμιγνύει μύθο και λαογραφία με προσωπικές αφηγήσεις, δημιουργώντας ιστορίες που θολώνουν τα όρια μεταξύ φαντασίας και πραγματικότητας.
Το στυλ γραφής της χαρακτηρίζεται από πλούσια, περιγραφική πεζογραφία και μια βαθιά εξερεύνηση της ανθρώπινης ψυχολογίας. Μου άρεσε αρκετά καθώς αναμιγνύει μύθο και λαογραφία με προσωπικές αφηγήσεις, δημιουργώντας ιστορίες που θολώνουν τα όρια μεταξύ φαντασίας και πραγματικότητας.
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