From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Paired bedding terms.
A lit de sangle is a bed supported by webbing or straps; paillasse is a straw mattress. Desmahis first thinks the rickety attic bed out of use, but later finds Tronche sleeping on it. The contrast between his earlier supposition and the occupied bed matters more than a generic image of an empty lovers’ retreat.
Places to read
- Chapter X, paragraph 67Frenchun vieux lit de sangle boiteux: A rickety old webbed bedstead. Its apparent disuse is qualified by “as it seemed to him”.
- Chapter X, paragraph 67Frenchune paillasse éventrée: A torn straw mattress. Fleas jump in the exposed bedding.
- Chapter X, paragraph 68FrenchSur un lit de sangle boiteux: On a rickety webbed bedstead. Tronche is asleep there when Desmahis enters.