Babette's Feast

Philippa is Martine’s younger sister (by one year) and one of the story’s main protagonists. She is just as beautiful as her sister and, like Martine, is named after one of the architects of the Protestant Reformation—in her case, the German theologian Philip Melanchthon. Philippa differs from Martine in that she is a talented singer. Her singing is so phenomenal that it catches the attention of the great opera singer Achilles Papin, who tutors her in hopes of persuading her to begin a grand singing career in France. When he crosses the line by kissing Philippa, she ends the lessons. Later, Papin recognizes that Philippa does not need earthly fame and says that she will “enchant the angels” (14) with her voice in heaven. Philippa refuses to discuss the incident of the kiss, just as Martine refuses to discuss Loewenhielm. However, unlike Martine, Philippa experiences a moment of passion that frightens her. Philippa is the one to console Babette at the end of the story about her ability to remain an artist, if not on earth, than in heaven because Philippa, too, has great artistic talent.

Philippa is a double for Martine in almost every way except for her singing and her confused feelings during her interaction with Papin. Philippa is Martine’s main support system; she never contradicts her sister and seconds whatever decisions Martine makes. This somewhat reflects the relationship between the theologians for which the sisters are named, as Melanchthon assisted Luther in the Protestant Reformation. Like Martine, Philippa does not significantly change over the course of the story.

Babette Hersant is an elderly woman and French chef who comes to Berlevaag as a refugee from the French civil war. She gains employment in the sisters’ house on the recommendation of Achilles Papin and for 12 years maintains her role as a simple cook and housekeeper.

Babette is a mysterious and formidable character. She sweeps into Martine and Philippa’s lives in dramatic fashion—in the middle of a rainy night, with a letter from Papin and little else. Her status as a pétroleuse during the Paris Commune uprising and the tragic fates of her husband and son characterize her world as one of violence, passion, and daring, all things that are the opposite of the safe, calm, gentle life of Berlevaag. Papin’s assertion that “Babette can cook” (14) later becomes understood as a gross understatement when the sisters learn that she is the genius chef behind the Café Anglais, the preferred restaurant of the Paris elite. When her Puritan Norwegian mistresses are shocked that Babette spent all her lottery winnings on preparing the dinner for them, she simply says, “A dinner for twelve at the Café Anglais would cost ten thousand francs” (42).

Babette does not change over the course of the story, rather, her true identity is revealed. Indeed, Martine and Philippa are often shocked at Babette: They view her as recluse and dangerous yet at the same time magnetic. They never fully understand who she is or the magnitude of her talent. To the sisters, the magnificent feast was “quite a nice dinner” (40). This explains why Babette remains a simple cook: It is more painful to have her work go unappreciated than it is to not practice her art. In the end, she commiserates with Papin, who once told her that, “It is terrible and unbearable to an artist […] to be encouraged to do, to be applauded for doing, [one’s] second best” (44). Babette is a symbolic character, representing the passions that the sisters and their community try to tame. She is also a foil for the sisters; like them, she does not mind earthly poverty because she possesses something higher and more valuable. Whereas for the sisters it is spiritual devotion, for Babette, it is her art.

Lorens Loewenhielm is a Prussian general who visits Berlevaag as a young man and has a life-changing experience when he meets Martine. For this reason, he undergoes the clearest transformation of all the main characters in the story. When he first appears, he is a young officer, flamboyant and carefree: His father sent him to visit his aunt in Fossum (a town near Berlevaag) as a punishment for his indulgent lifestyle. In Berlevaag, he is taken in by Martine’s almost supernatural beauty and spiritual purity. At first, Loewenhielm tries to court her by as he would any other girl, but the more he sees Martine, the more disgusted he becomes with himself in comparison to her holiness and purity of heart. His feelings are so intense that he becomes shy and unable to speak in her presence, which is uncharacteristic for him.

Loewenhielm is in a state of internal conflict for most of the story. He achieves wealth, success, and social status and marries a beautiful woman and becomes a fixture in the royal court. However, he remains dissatisfied with life: “He looked into the mirror, examined the row of decorations on his breast and sighed to himself: ‘Vanity, vanity, all is vanity!’” (29). He intends his attendance at the Dean’s anniversary celebration to be a reckoning: He believes that by the end of the night, he will have proven to himself that he made the right decision all those years ago to leave Martine and religious piety behind. The night does not prove that, nor does it prove that he should have stayed in Berlevaag. In fact, after enjoying Babette’s food, he realizes that there is enough grace to cover all decisions, right and wrong, and “that which we have rejected is poured upon us abundantly” (36). Loewenhielm is a key character and a catalyst for Babette’s reveal because he is the only one at the dinner who has experienced her cooking before. The worldliness and career pursuits that he now regrets are, ironically, what led him to recognize Babette’s talent and true identity.