Supreme Stimulus for Lechery Summary

Catherine the Great was known to be both supportive of foreign artists and repressive of artists in her own country. She married young, to an ugly, gluttonous man but had the presence of mind to secure assistance in eliminating him and ruling his country for half a century. She had many lovers, and was said to be so insatiable that she had relations with her horse; but that may be just a rumor. To the end of her seventy-seven years, Catherine the Great's breakfast consisted of vodka-laced tea and a caviar omelet.

Allende compares a freshly-prepared omelet to the music of an Indian snake charmer -- a song for the spirit. Allende says that music powerful enough to empower a cobra must be capable of arousing anything.

The last section of this chapter is a recipe for...