When I first started baking sourdough, I never imagined it would become such a central part of my life. What began as something to do at home during the pandemic has now turned into this grounding ritual and one of my favorite hobbies. The act of kneading dough, waiting for it to rise, has made me think about bread in a way I never had before. It’s more than food now. It’s life, history, and even a bit of art. This realization has led me to explore how bread is portrayed in literature, from Margaret Atwood’s evocative poem “Bread” to the importance of bread in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables.
Bread as a Sacred Thing
There’s something about baking bread that feels ancient, almost sacred. While I’m mixing flour, water, and salt, I think about how bread shows up in spiritual traditions. Bread often symbolizes the divine. Take Christianity, for example: in the Bible, bread isn’t just food; it’s a symbol of life. The Last Supper, where bread is broken as a sign of unity, underscores this idea.
Atwood’s “Bread“: More Than Just Food
In Margaret Atwood’s poem “Bread”, she uses bread as a means to talk about hunger, privilege, and morality. The poem shifts perspectives—from a person enjoying a simple loaf of bread to those who face starvation and are forced into difficult decisions. Atwood’s imagery reminds me of the privilege inherent in my own baking experience, and the complex histories that bread carries with it. It’s a stark reminder that bread, while a symbol of comfort for some, represents survival and sacrifice for others.
Bread as Labor: Lessons from Les Misérables
Baking bread is hard work—it takes time, patience, and sweat. I think of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, stealing a loaf to feed his starving family. That one desperate act sets off a whole chain of events, showing how bread can be a symbol of both survival and injustice. Valjean wasn’t stealing for luxury; he was trying to keep his family alive. When I’m baking, it hits me sometimes—how bread has meant so many different things to different people throughout history. For some, it’s comfort; for others, it’s life or death. In John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, bread highlights the struggles of the working class. The scarcity of bread in these stories underscores themes of poverty and inequality. Through bread, authors explore the resilience of communities and the dignity found in honest work—something I’ve come to value even more as I bake my own loaves.
Sharing Bread: A Small Gesture with Big Meaning
I’ve also started noticing how bread is a symbol of generosity. I think of The Hunger Games, where Peeta gives Katniss burned bread to keep her from starving. It’s a small gesture, but it means everything. This scene becomes a pivotal point in the story, and it is often referenced back to throughout the series. Bread often symbolizes hospitality and care—those who share bread with strangers are often rewarded in literature. This resonates with me on a personal level; baking and sharing bread feels like a small but meaningful way to connect with others, a gesture of kindness that has been celebrated in stories for centuries.
Bread and Writing: The Creative Mess
Baking, I’ve realized, is a lot like writing. You start with these raw, basic ingredients—flour, water, salt—and you turn them into something bigger than the sum of their parts. Writing works the same way. You have words, ideas, memories, and slowly they take shape into something that feels whole. Just like with baking, I’m always learning something new about the process.
Bread as a Bridge
Bread is a way to connect—to the past, to literature, to the people around me. There’s something grounding about it, something that reminds me of what’s important. From Margaret Atwood’s poem to the struggles in Les Misérables, bread is this common thread that ties us together, across time and stories. It’s simple, but it’s powerful, and I feel lucky that something so humble has found its way into my life, both in and out of the kitchen.
