| dc.description.abstract | Georges Simenon, a Belgian writer, is best-known for his Commissaire Maigret series. Commissaire Maigret often goes to a bar for drinking during investigation. Even if he is busy, he never forgets his three meals. Without doubt, the drinking and eating scenes have significant purposes. In this thesis, we explore the relation between the foods, the plots and the characters in six Maigret novels and some other Maigret’s investigations.
In chapter I, we focus on the presentations of foods in the Maigret series. Simenon projects his culinary preferences on Maigret, and drinking and eating scenes appear frequently in the fictions. Thus, we analyze these scenes by classifying them into two categories, the drinkable and the edible. In addition, based on the way that Simenon chooses and presents foods, we discuss the interaction between food scenes and the space as well as the time of the story lines.
In the second chapter, we study the descriptions about eating and drinking so that we can seize the roles of foods in the fictions and their rhetorical functions. In the Commissaire Maigret series, foods provide a framework of the stories; they can also recall the past. Furthermore, they help to demonstrate the emotions of the characters. The color, the smell and the flavor of the foods stimulate people’s sensations and intensify an atmosphere typically Simenonian. Rhetorically, Simenon skillfully connects the symbol, the metaphor, and the metonymy of foods and the descriptions of female bodies. This connection creates some other meanings and gives a room for the imagination of readers.
Finally, we consider the relation between foods and the personalities of the characters. We analyze the affection caused by foods. Dining behavior makes Maigret more like a human being than a detective machine. While he faces different people, foods and beverages may suggest different sentiments. Thus, when inspecting the suspects, Maigret’s choices on foods may identify the real murderer. Also, Simenon arranges carefully eating and drinking scenes so that foods can be used to distinguish the characters’ social status, personalities, and the gender.
The readers usually enjoy the process of investigation and the disclosure of the murderer when reading detective or crime fictions. In Commissaire Maigret series, the consumption of foods and beverages can be a clue to the crime. Hence, foods are by no means insignificant details or decorations. Instead, they provide readers an alternative perspective and a supplementary fun while reading Simenon.
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