DiotimosReading Desk

Body

Crush of people

presse

Presse here is the bodily crush or tightly packed crowd, not printing, newspapers or an abstract state of urgency.

From the book

The Gods Are Athirst

Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Browse this book’s lexicon →

Meaning

Lemma.

Presse here is the bodily crush or tightly packed crowd, not printing, newspapers or an abstract state of urgency. Its suffocating pressure carries both danger and erotic contact. The translation uses “crush” in the bread queue, where the struggling infant is pressed against Gamelin’s back.

Places to read

  1. Chapter VI, paragraph 2Frenchla presse devenait plus étouffante: The crush became more suffocating. People deny pushing while saying they are pushed.
  2. Chapter VI, paragraph 24Frenchla presse étouffante: The stifling crush. The child’s vulnerability makes the same crowd pressure acutely physical.