Babette’s Feast as Sacramental: The Eternal and the Mundane Meet

Abstract

The literary discussion surrounding Babette’s Feast focuses on whether the feast was transformational due to it being either symbolic of a Eucharistic feast, a work of art produced by Babette, or a combination of both elements making it transcendental. I have found, however, that through applying the theological lens of Alexander Schmemann’s For the Life of the World, it is evident that the feast need not be anything beyond food to instigate a sacramental experience; God chooses to inhabit the mundane in order that we might experience his transformational presence, and we can access his presence by giving thanks for the food before us. By gaining a deeper understanding of the sacramental worldview as presented in Babette’s Feast, the actions of the everyday, such as eating a meal with others, can become for us opportunities to encounter the Lord’s presence.