From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Related words and phrases.
Chapelet is a rosary or set of prayer beads. The pedlar’s portable devotional goods are treated by Delourmel as a political arsenal, while Madame Gamelin uses an old rosary to occupy trembling fingers even though she scarcely remembers its use. The material practice is both familiar trade and a resource of distress. The pedlar’s list names representations and objects, not a narrator’s authentication of relics.
Places to read
- Chapter XVII, paragraph 24Frenchchapelets et rosaires: chaplets and rosaries. The pedlar enumerates her stock of religious articles.
- Chapter XVIII, paragraph 3Frenchun vieux chapelet: an old rosary. The widow turns toward prayer after a long life without regular practice.