The sight of all the food stacked in those kitchens made me dizzy. It's not that we hadn't enough to eat at home, it's just that my grandmother always cooked economy joints and economy meat loafs and had the habit of saying, the minute you lifted the first forkful to your mouth, "I hope you enjoy that, it cost forty-one cents a pound," which always made me feel I was somehow eating pennies instead of Sunday roast.
The protagonist in Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" reflects on her experiences with food at home, highlighting the stark contrast between it and the abundant offerings she sees in kitchens elsewhere. While she does not go hungry, her grandmother's frugal approach to cooking instills a sense that meals are more about their cost than their enjoyment. Each meal is accompanied by reminders of its low price, emphasizing a mindset where the...
