Babette's Feast

7 Pages 1709 Words

“the Way”

“It is due to religion and art that one can arrive at a representation of what is individual; it is due to feeling (friendship, love, affection) that one human being is different from others.” (Weil, Simone)


Much of Simone Weil’s writing dealt with the ways in which G-d touches our lives, and the ways we can open ourselves to him. If Simone Weil could draw you a picture map on the way to finding G-d it would start at the basin of a pyramid. Finding the path to the direct love of G-d begins with one of three indirect forms of love: love of beauty of nature, love of neighbor, and love of religious practices. The soul can find the path to the love of G-d by going through any one of these indirect forms. The three indirect forms introduced by Weil were more clearly established within the short story film, “Babette’s Feast.” Through the characters of the movie it is better understood how people can use love to establish a more direct connection with G-d.
Simone Weil’s writings are complex. In referring to nature’s beauty she says all things which make up matter are not beautiful when they simply obey man, but only when matter obeys G-d. For example she wrote, “The Sea is not less beautiful in our eyes because we know ships have wrecked on it. On the contrary, this adds to its beauty. If it altered the movement of its waves to spare a ship it would be a creature gifted with discernment and choice, and not this fluid, perfectly obedient to every external pressure. It is its’ perfect obedience which makes the seas beauty.” Within the love of beauty of nature lies art. Although Weil shuns art and imagination as possible routes to enlightenment, she did admit that poetry was a very engaging form that could possibly lead to truth. She believed that artists were capable of being touched by G-d. One such poem by George Herbert, titled “Love” truly reached Weil. “Love” contained such a compatib...