Journal of Religion Film - DigitalCommons@UNO.pdf

J ournal of Religion Film Volume 16 Article 10 Issue 2 October 2012 10-1-2012 Babettes Feast and the Goodness of God Thomas J. Curry curryth@ Recommended Citation Curry, Thomas J. (2012) Babettes Feast and the Goodness of God, J ournal of Relig ion Film: Vol. 16: Iss. 2, Article 10. Available at : /jrf/vol16/iss2/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UN . It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Religion Film by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UN . For more information, please contact unodigitalcommons@. Babettes Feast and the Goodness of God Abstract This article attempts to answer the preeminent question Babette’s Feast invites viewers to consider : Why does Babette choose to expend everything she has to make her feast? f the critical studies made of the film, few have considered analytically crucial the catastrophic backstory of Babette, the violence of which is implied and offscreen. Appreciation of the singularity of Babette’s own personhood and the darker aspects of her experience, and not only how she might act as a figure of Christ, are key to understanding the motivating force behind her meal and its transformative effect: That through the feast Babette lays to rest the horrors of her past and takes refuge in God’s goodness. Keywords Babette, Christ figures, Women, Food, Sacrifice, Evil Author Notes Thomas J. Curry, teaches at St. John’s College, a Lasallian preparatory school in Washington, DC. He holds a BA in Religion from La Salle University, and an MA and PhD in Theology from Boston College. He also has a Certificate in Japanese Tea Ritual from Urasenke Gakuen in Kyoto, Japan, and is completing a Certificate in Nonprofit Management at Marymount University. Dr. Curry ’s research and teaching interests include systematic