Food and Identity

In my last post I wrote about the fried food eaten at the Jewish festival of Hannukah; the food laws and various culinary traditions of Judaism provide a key way in which Jews signal their identity to the wider world.

But you don’t have to follow strict food rules and practices to tell people who you are via the food you eat. Like the clothes we wear and the music we listen to, the food we eat sends out clear signals about our identity. Continue reading “Food and Identity”

Charlotte Bronte and food

Today marks the bicentenary of the birth of Charlotte Bronte, the eldest of the three novelist sisters.  Having previously blogged about food in Jane Eyre (published 1847), I thought that today would be a good opportunity to revisit these posts and what we learn about food in Bronte’s best-known novel. Continue reading “Charlotte Bronte and food”

The Cooking Protagonist

Charlotte Bronte’s most famous novel Jane Eyre (published 1847), narrates in the first person the journey of the protagonist Jane Eyre to adulthood.  Following a miserable childhood, the orphaned Jane finds self-worth through her work as a governess, becomes independently wealthy following the death of a relative and finally – after a few obstacles along the way – marries the man she loves, her former employer, Mr Rochester.  Continue reading “The Cooking Protagonist”