Read Online The Unofficial Hunger Games Companion by Lois H. Gresh - Free Book Online
Authors: Lois H. Gresh
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It seems she either became intensely ill due to starvation or she suffered from bulimia; whenever she swallowed anything beyond a few herbs, she forced herself to throw up.
In general, the term anorexia mirabilis is given to females who starved themselves on purpose during the Middle Ages. As with Saint Catherine of Siena, the condition was associated with asceticism, the desire to starve in the name of God. Other methods of hurting the body and devoting one’s spirit to God included self-flagellation, sleeping on beds made out of thorns, and self-mutilation.
Saint Angela of Foligno (1248–1309) not only starved herself, but she supposedly ate scabs, lice, and pus from the bodies of sick people. 13
Saint Veronica regularly starved herself for three days at a time, during which she would instead chew five orange seeds in honor of Jesus’ five wounds.
While the Middle Ages produced a lot of women with anorexia mirabilis, the condition has also existed in modern times. For example, Alexandrina Maria da Costa (1904–55) died from anorexia mirabilis. According to the Vatican, she “fell in love with suffering” and stopped Hunger 47 eating. For “forty days” she starved herself in honor of God. 14
Contrast all these women who starve on purpose to Katniss Everdeen and everyone she knows and loves. According to Gale, the tesserae are a weapon that the Capitol uses to “plant hatred between the starving workers of the Seam and those who can generally count on supper and thereby ensure we will never trust one another” ( The Hunger Games , 14). The implication is that some people in District 12 have plenty to eat while others starve, hence causing strife inside the community.
But at the Capitol level, the difference is far more extreme. Even en route to her first Games, Katniss experiences the pleasures of gluttony. But while she eats her lavish, full-course meal, Effie makes a stray comment about the piggish eating habits of former District 12 tributes. Katniss’s anger and resentment gurgle up, and she finishes her meal like a barbarian with no manners. In a small way, she’s revolting against what she sees as gross injustice. It’s not much, but repressed people with no recourse can’t do anything more than display small gestures of rebellion.
But what’s really bizarre is when the people of the Capitol eat too much, purge the food, and then eat again. They all have bulimia. As Octavia says in Catching Fire , how else would they have any fun at their feasts ( Catching Fire , 79)? This may actually be a turning point in the entire saga, because Peeta comments that he just doesn’t know how much more he can stand. When repressed people suffer injustices and indignities, when they’re pushed to their limits, they do eventually rebel. And it’s at this point that Peeta tells Katniss that maybe they were wrong “about trying to subdue things in the districts.” ( Catching Fire , 81).
In ancient Rome, gladiatorial banquets for the spectators were orgies of gluttony and bulimia. As in The Hunger Games world, exotic and rich dishes were served in vast quantities. A Roman gladiatorial banquet might include pickled tuna, eggs, cheese, olives, wild fowl, hens, boar, gazelle, hare, antelope, and flamingo. The wealthy spectators ate with their hands and demanded that slaves clean their hands periodically so they could eat more, and yet more. People vomited so they could continue to eat more, and yet more.
We’re not really sure if Marie Antoinette actually said, “Let them eat cake,” but we are sure that while she ate plenty of cake, the French people starved. This is very similar to what’s going on in the Capitol, that while people eat cake, the rest of the population starves. The 2006 film Marie Antoinette , directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Kirsten Durst, shows the dichotomy between gluttony and starvation very well.
HUNGER STRIKES AND ASCETICISM:
STARVATION ON PURPOSE
In many societies, hunger
In general, the term anorexia mirabilis is given to females who starved themselves on purpose during the Middle Ages. As with Saint Catherine of Siena, the condition was associated with asceticism, the desire to starve in the name of God. Other methods of hurting the body and devoting one’s spirit to God included self-flagellation, sleeping on beds made out of thorns, and self-mutilation.
Saint Angela of Foligno (1248–1309) not only starved herself, but she supposedly ate scabs, lice, and pus from the bodies of sick people. 13
Saint Veronica regularly starved herself for three days at a time, during which she would instead chew five orange seeds in honor of Jesus’ five wounds.
While the Middle Ages produced a lot of women with anorexia mirabilis, the condition has also existed in modern times. For example, Alexandrina Maria da Costa (1904–55) died from anorexia mirabilis. According to the Vatican, she “fell in love with suffering” and stopped Hunger 47 eating. For “forty days” she starved herself in honor of God. 14
Contrast all these women who starve on purpose to Katniss Everdeen and everyone she knows and loves. According to Gale, the tesserae are a weapon that the Capitol uses to “plant hatred between the starving workers of the Seam and those who can generally count on supper and thereby ensure we will never trust one another” ( The Hunger Games , 14). The implication is that some people in District 12 have plenty to eat while others starve, hence causing strife inside the community.
But at the Capitol level, the difference is far more extreme. Even en route to her first Games, Katniss experiences the pleasures of gluttony. But while she eats her lavish, full-course meal, Effie makes a stray comment about the piggish eating habits of former District 12 tributes. Katniss’s anger and resentment gurgle up, and she finishes her meal like a barbarian with no manners. In a small way, she’s revolting against what she sees as gross injustice. It’s not much, but repressed people with no recourse can’t do anything more than display small gestures of rebellion.
But what’s really bizarre is when the people of the Capitol eat too much, purge the food, and then eat again. They all have bulimia. As Octavia says in Catching Fire , how else would they have any fun at their feasts ( Catching Fire , 79)? This may actually be a turning point in the entire saga, because Peeta comments that he just doesn’t know how much more he can stand. When repressed people suffer injustices and indignities, when they’re pushed to their limits, they do eventually rebel. And it’s at this point that Peeta tells Katniss that maybe they were wrong “about trying to subdue things in the districts.” ( Catching Fire , 81).
In ancient Rome, gladiatorial banquets for the spectators were orgies of gluttony and bulimia. As in The Hunger Games world, exotic and rich dishes were served in vast quantities. A Roman gladiatorial banquet might include pickled tuna, eggs, cheese, olives, wild fowl, hens, boar, gazelle, hare, antelope, and flamingo. The wealthy spectators ate with their hands and demanded that slaves clean their hands periodically so they could eat more, and yet more. People vomited so they could continue to eat more, and yet more.
We’re not really sure if Marie Antoinette actually said, “Let them eat cake,” but we are sure that while she ate plenty of cake, the French people starved. This is very similar to what’s going on in the Capitol, that while people eat cake, the rest of the population starves. The 2006 film Marie Antoinette , directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Kirsten Durst, shows the dichotomy between gluttony and starvation very well.
HUNGER STRIKES AND ASCETICISM:
STARVATION ON PURPOSE
In many societies, hunger
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