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The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities, and Meaning of Table Manners

Book by Margaret Visser · 7 quotes · Eating, Manners, Satisfaction

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The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities, and Meaning of Table Manners Quotes

“Animals are murdered to produce meat; vegetables are torn up, peeled, and chopped; most of what we eat is treated with fire; and chewing is designed remorselessly to finish what killing and cooking began. People naturally prefer that none of this should happen to them. Behind every rule of table etiquette lurks the determination of each person present to be a diner, not a dish.”

PeopleShouldPersonsHappensAnimalBehindsFireProduceEatingDeterminationTablesCookingKillingTreatedMannersMeatVegetablesDishesTornEtiquetteChewingDiners
Book:The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities, and Meaning of Table Manners
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“Eating is aggressive by nature, and the implements required for it could quickly become weapons; table manners are, most basically, a system of taboos designed to ensure that violence remains out of the question.”

ViolenceEatingWeaponsTablesRemainsMannersAggressiveTabooTable Manners
Book:The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities, and Meaning of Table Manners
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“A meal can be thought of as a ritual and a work of art, with limits laid down, desires aroused and fulfilled, enticements, variety, patterning and plot. As in a work of art, not only the overall form, but also the details matter intensely.”

ArtMatterFormDesireLimitsDetailsVarietyMealsPlotWorks Of ArtRitualFulfilledEnticement
Book:The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities, and Meaning of Table Manners
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