From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Related words and phrases.
Disette is shortage, here the lack and cost of food; famine carries the stronger prospect of starvation. The mother’s report that market foods cannot be found establishes material distress, while Gamelin assigns a conspiracy as its cause. Later people fear famine, and aristocrats are said to wish for it. Scarcity, fear of worsening deprivation and allegations about intention should not be merged into one fact. The words are retained as a linked field because characters move from visible want to an account of hostile agency.
Places to read
- Chapter II, paragraph 18Frenchla disette dont nous souffrons: present shortage. Gamelin immediately attaches a causal accusation to it.
- Chapter V, paragraph 44FrenchLe peuple craignait la famine: fear of severe deprivation. The sentence next attributes a wish for famine to aristocrats with a reported-speech qualification.