From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Related words and phrases.
The changed calendar enters an ordinary cobbler’s bill. Madame Gamelin cannot readily map its dates onto purchases; Combalot uses it to avoid appearing a bad citizen. His complaint about only three Sundays uses familiar vocabulary for the new ten-day rest cycle, not a claim that Sunday literally survives unchanged. Calendar reform thus affects memory, bookkeeping and public signs of loyalty as well as political chronology.
Places to read
- Chapter XVI, paragraph 11Frenchdu nouveau calendrier: the new calendar. The tradesman’s political caution produces the widow’s accounting difficulty.
- Chapter XVI, paragraph 17Frenchtrois dimanches au lieu de quatre: three Sundays instead of four. The popular description concerns reduced frequency of rest days.