Hot dishes

[Johnyxxx]

Hi,

I am not sure if the dishes were hot (spicy), or hot (high temperature). Can anybody help me?


Lunch, like breakfast, was in the kitchen; apparently it had not seemed worth-while to Julian and Mrs Walters to clean out the junk in the other front room and eat there. It was typical of the whole ascetic and yet slovenly way in which they seemed to be living. The meal was desultory. Mrs Marcy cooked well, but the dishes she set before us were all hot and there was too much of them. We were not harvest hands. Julian barely picked at his food, swallowing a mouthful now and then more out of deference to Anne’s insistence that he eat something than out of any appetite. She hardly ate more herself and spoke scarcely at all. I felt that she did not know just what the status quo was and thought it better to take no chances. She kept one eye on Mrs Walters most of the time, with now and then a grin in my direction. It was pleasant to see her across the table from me.

William Sloane, Edge of Running Water, 1939.


Thanks a lot.

 

[GoesStation]

Hot in temperature; not cold.

 

[Tdol]

Am I the only one who thinks it means spicy?

 

[jutfrank]

Am I the only one who thinks it means spicy?

Why do you suspect so? I can't think of any reason. In fact, given the historical and social context of the story, I suppose it would have been very unlikely for Mrs Marcy to be making spicy food.

It is a bit odd though that the fact that the dishes are hot is presented as a negative thing, isn't it?

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm equally confused. I think it's very unlikely that she would have dished up spicy food but I also can't see why the writer is complaining that the food wasn't cold.

 

[GoesStation]

The writer complains that there weren't any cold dishes. That's not the same as complaining that the food wasn't cold.

"Hot" in the sense of spicy doesn't seem natural in a work published in 1939. I'd expect "peppery" or possibly "heavily spiced".

 

[jutfrank]

Perhaps he means that the dishes were too hot. That would make some sense at least, and would go with too much of them.

 

[jutfrank]

The writer complains that there weren't any cold dishes.

Yes, that makes more sense. I think that's right.

(I didn't see your post until after I wrote my last.)

 

[GoesStation]

Or the weather was hot and the person eating would have preferred something cold. Even the copious context Johnny provided isn't enough to guess!

 

[emsr2d2]

I even searched for the book online to find the rest of the page it's from and I'm none the wiser. Perhaps, as GoesStation suggested, the word "all" is relevant. Perhaps the writer wanted a mixture of hot and cold dishes. Quite frankly, seeing as someone else went to the effort of cooking them, I suggest that he put up and shut up (and eat up!)

 

[jutfrank]

Perhaps, as GoesStation suggested, the word "all" is relevant.

Yes, I think the word all makes all the difference.

 

[Tdol]

Why do you suspect so? I can't think of any reason. In fact, given the historical and social context of the story, I suppose it would have been very unlikely for Mrs Marcy to be making spicy food.

It is a bit odd though that the fact that the dishes are hot is presented as a negative thing, isn't it?

Because of the bit of oddness. Especially given that she is credited for her qualities as a cook.

 

[Skrej]

Mrs Marcy cooked well, but the dishes she set before us were all hot and there was too much of them. We were not harvest hands.

I think the clue that cinches 'hot=not cold' is in the following sentence. For someone doing hard labor, a hot meal is a rare treat, especially during harvest when you're racing to bring in the crops. It's a luxury in that context versus just some kind of sandwich or quick meal. Anyone who has done any kind of physical labor will tell you that hot (warm) food is more rewarding and satisfying than just a meal from a lunchbox. Also, someone who's been working would appreciate large volumes of food, having worked up an appetite. I'm speaking from experience, here.

However, someone of perceived class or higher station might expect cold dishes to offset the summer heat. They're not going to want as much to eat, because they haven't depleted nearly the calories as someone who has spent the morning bringing in the harvest. Recall that this would be of a time when harvesting was still highly hands on and likely still involving teams of horses, etc. The harvesters would have wanted hot, heavy calorie-ridden food for energy. The genteel boarders, not so much.

It's kind of a statement about class, too. Cucumber sandwiches, chilled gazpacho soup, and fruit salads versus say meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, and mac & cheese.