Essay Questions

Chocolate is undoubtedly the most frequently encountered symbol in the novel but what does it symbolize?

Chocolate is the embodiment of Vianne’s goodwill towards others. The confections she prepares are made with ingredients she has sourced, readied, and cooked with the utmost care and love--all by herself. She sells these at the lowest possible profit margin without compromising on the quality. Her chocolate shop, where she makes and sells her confections, are likewise an extension of her goodwill. Here she invites everyone to her shop regardless of their background, eccentricities, or ethnicity becoming a sort of shelter for the town’s marginalized residents.

How is the theme or religious hypocrisy explored in the novel?

This theme is explored primarily through Curé Francis Reynaud. Curé Francis is the towns’ de facto leader and able to sway the opinion of the townsfolk by effectively excommunicating individuals who do not meet his standards of external religious piety. Outwardly he is not an unlikable fellow as he is generally polite and soft-spoken; this belies his inward workings though as he is an implacable, horribly judgmental person. He makes it a point to launch a smear campaign against Vianne for opening a chocolatier during Lent using his Sunday sermons. He also tries to rally the citizens to kick the river-gypsies out of their community. It is also interesting to note that the Curé isn’t even after an experience of redemptive faith in his parishioners; he is content to see them maintain an external show of religious obeisance and adherence to ritualistic practices.

What does Pantoufle symbolize?

Pantoufle is Anouk’s imaginary rabbit and the embodiment of her fear of people as well as her coping mechanism for all of the wandering that she and her mother had been doing. Pantoufle also serves as her mouth piece, granting her safety via the quasi-anonymity in being able to “take back” statements she verbalizes because “Pantoufle said it” and not Anouk. When they begin to become more accepted within the community though and Anouk gains more friends she learns to rely less on Pantoufle to “speak on her behalf.”