Functions of Gastronomic Images in the Novel Ni Ève, Ni Adam by Amélie Nothomb

Abstract

The article analyses problems of intercultural communication through the prism of gastronomic images. The study is based on the novel Ni Ève, ni Adam by the Modern French-speaking Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb. This novel is part of the autobiographical hypertext of the writer, contains recognizable autobiographems, it is the artistic reproduction of an episode in her real life. Most of the narrated episodes take place in Japan. The main plot is built upon the love story between a French-speaking Belgian girl and a Japanese boy. The main characters of the novel appear as atypical representatives of their national traditions; the girl of Belgian origins is in love with Japan and its culture, as well as the Japanese man prefers European traditions. Through their tastes these two main characters get to know each other, as well as their culture, tradition and mindsets. Japanese gastronomic discourse is presented more broadly than the Belgian one. It is represented by the names and descriptions of national Japanese dishes, drinks, Japanese culinary traditions, rituals. Belgian gastronomic discourse is almost absent in the novel, because it fits into a broader European discourse, represented mainly by European international dishes. The gastronomic discourse of the novel is a means of characterizing the protagonists, their psychological and social portrait. The mixing of gender and social roles of the characters is shown through the tastes. Gastronomic images become memory boosters, causing the 'effect of a madeleine cookie by Marcel Proust'.