“What is fame? What is glory? The grave awaits us all!”
The vanity of life is presented by the words put in the mouth of Monsieur Papin. All his life he was teaching singing other people and his dream was to sing once himself. When he finally found a lady who was brilliant enough to sing with him, it was Philippa, she refused to share the glory with him, in fact she desired no glory at all. He felt disappointed. Young Lorens as well as Papin all his life ran after glory and acceptance in the world. And when finally he received what he had desired, he also got disappointed, and his medals on the breast made him little happy. No matter what a person is after all the life, there is only one end for everyone – and this end is disappointment.
“Nobody, it was felt in the Brotherhood, could really blame Babette: birds will return to their nests and human beings to the country of their birth.”
Everyone in the town thought that after getting ten thousand francs Babette will leave them for sure. She was not to be blamed, as it is obvious that a person yearns for the place of birth, as it contains many memories. It is an instinct in its nature, like the birds’ instinct of returning to their nests. The difference is that in people’s case it is head that decides what to do – to return or not, not the instincts
“How is a man of sense to behave when he cannot trust his senses? It is better to be drunk than mad.”
At the birthday party, general Lorens was very surprised to eat all those dishes which were of great luxury. Only once in his life he tasted such delicious things, back in France, and to find these things in the house of a poor clergyman was beyond his understanding. Babette’s boy had clear instructions to fill the glasses of the Brotherhood only once, but he refilled the General’s glass as soon as it was emptied. The reason for this was that none of the present, but the General emptied it quickly time after time. He did this because of astonishment, and not to consider himself mad, he preferred to be drunk.
