Status Updates From Babettes Gastmahl

Overvej at blive kysset af en fyr (du ikke vil kysses af), løbe hjem til din far, få ham ham til at skrive et brev til fyren om du ikke vil se ham igen, for at han 16 år senere sender en husholderske hjem til dig som du nu skal vælge mellem at huse eller lade dø 🫪

'One is happy to meet one's friends again, she said, and yet it is then that one realizes how time flies. It is we who feel it, the women. From us time takes away so much.
And in the end: everything.'

And all the same,' she added thoughtfully, 'he was honest, an honest young man. He could really want a thing. Many men have not got that in them.'

For to die for the one you loved was an effort too sweet for words.

we imagine divine grace to be finite. […]
'We tremble before making our choice in life, and after having made it again tremble in fear of having chosen wrong. But the moment comes when our eyes are opened, and we see and realize that grace is infinite. Grace, my friends, demands nothing from us but that we shall await it with confidence and acknowledge it in gratitude.

oh no! the sisters (who are like nuns) were horrified to see there was going to be WINE at the dinner "it's a witches sabbath!" but the next thing on the planned menu was TURTLE which made me feel equally horrified. anyhow they've made a pact to be neutral whatever they're forced to eat. (idk why, it means so much to babette, why not say it's good or lie? their reasoning escapes me)

okay now it's starting to move me.

after winning the lottery, the housemaid's one request of the two siblings is to let her cook a french meal and pay for it herself. (ah! that's such a nice gesture!) the siblings don't want her to spend her money on them but this seems to be something she wants very much (and she hasn't made any demands in all the years until now) so they've consented. i'm a bit hooked now

this is okay-ish. it's about two religious siblings who have taken in a housekeeper who is fleeing from france. the housekeeper has just won the lottery.

even though this is a short story there are ... i'm not sure if you can call them chapters? but there are headings on each section. i like this. it makes everything feel clear. being given direction of what to expect is grounding