Warm and Comfortable: Portrayals of Food as a Social Scaffolding Tool in British Literature

Abstract

This thesis explores the political, social, and moral role food has had historically as portrayed through literature by performing a close reading and contrastive analysis of the 19th Century British novels Emma by Jane Austen and Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant. By examining these texts in the context of the field of food studies, the aim is to highlight the role of food as a social scaffolding tool. This exploration brings to the fore how literary analysis is a relevant tool which can add to the field of food studies by helping understand the evolution of how food has been used and perceived historically in society.