“Mawidge is a dweam wiffin a dweam.”
The Archdean
Whoops–sorry, wrong book! We’re not here to talk about The Princess Bride, although that is one of my favorite books of all time. Nope, we’re actually here to discuss Emma.
There was no recovering Miss Taylor–nor much likelihood of ceasing to pity her; but a few weeks brought some alleviation to Mr. Woodhouse. The compliments of his neighbours were over: he was no longer teased by being wished joy of so sorrowful an event; and the wedding-cake, which had been a great distress to him, was all ate up. His own stomach could bear nothing rich, and he could never believe other people to be different from himself. What was unwholesome to him, he regarded as unfit for any body; and he had, therefore, earnestly tried to dissuade them from having any wedding-cake at all; and when that proved vain, as earnestly tried to prevent any body’s eating it.
Jane Austen, Emma
My cousin is getting married today, so I thought wedding cake would be an appropriate recipe for this month. Plus, I just reread Emma and finally watched the 2020 movie version (which I loved; there were just a couple things, such as the portrayal of Isabella’s character and the proposal scene at the end, that bothered me a little, but overall it was wonderful. The subtly sarcastic tone threaded throughout was delightful and very Austen-esque).
Jane Austen was brilliant. Her books, although set in a very specific place, time, and class, are still thoroughly enjoyable and relevant today. For example, Mr. Woodhouse’s attitude towards Mrs. Weston’s wedding cake is startlingly similar to our diet culture today; many people have a pet diet (Keto, Paleo, South Beach, Atkins, Mediterranean, vegan, low-fat, low-carb, high-carb, etc.) that they will tell you is the only path to health.
I used to struggle with orthorexia–”right eating”. I read a ton of books about diet and was convinced that sugar, gluten, and dairy would kill me slowly by pumping me full of incurable chronic diseases. Slowly this orthorexia gave way to anorexia; instead of denying myself the foods I wanted to eat, I just ate minuscule portions of them. I never stopped eating completely, but I skipped meals several times a week and monitored my body and my weight compulsively. I think many more people struggle with the effects of diet culture than we imagine.
I am now a happy, healthy omnivore, although I lean towards the vegetarian end of the spectrum because that’s what makes me feel the best. And although Mr. Woodhouse might not feel great eating this cake, and warn people away from it with the best of intentions, I have no problem saying, “I’ll have a slice anyway.”
If you’re interested in the history of wedding cake, you should definitely check out this fascinating article. And if you’re curious about the cake I chose to make, here’s the recipe, although I left out all the ingredients except the butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. The original recipe is more or less authentic to the time period. Oh, and the icing I made for it is aquafaba based 😉
Crumbs between the Pages 