DiotimosReading Desk

Food

Sheaf

gerbe

A bundle of cut grain bound together.

From the book

The Gods Are Athirst

Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Browse this book’s lexicon →

Meaning

Lemma.

A bundle of cut grain bound together. The bakery’s golden sheaf is a commercial emblem above the door; actual reapers binding sheaves later move Gamelin to tears and dreams of harmony. The two settings give the same agricultural object an emblematic form amid scarcity and a working form in the countryside.

Places to read

  1. Chapter VI, paragraph 58Frenchla gerbe dorée: The golden sheaf. Gamelin sees it above the bakery threshold.
  2. Chapter X, paragraph 29Frenchdes moissonneurs lier des gerbes: Reapers binding sheaves. The labour prompts Gamelin’s emotional response.