From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Lemma.
A limonadier is a proprietor serving drinks and refreshments, not necessarily only lemonade. The one at La Belle Lilloise occupies a deliberately rustic cottage and has created a sentimental tomb under a willow. Later he brings the lovers a carafe and glasses. Commercial hospitality supplies the supposedly natural setting in which their declarations occur; the paid staging does not make their feelings unreal, but keeps the scene’s material conditions in view.
Places to read
- Chapter IV, paragraph 3Frenchoccupée par un limonadier: a commercial refreshment establishment. The proprietor adds artificial ruins and a tomb to the rustic setting.
- Chapter IV, paragraph 13FrenchLe limonadier ayant apporté une carafe et des verres: service of drinks to the lovers. Élodie pours for them as a practical householder.