Section 1, Part 6 Summary and Analysis

"Wine and Milk" Wine is described at the beginning of this essay as being the archetypal, almost stereotypical French drink, in the same way tea is for the British. The author suggests that the overriding reason for this is wine's transformative powers, its capacity "...for reversing situations and states, and [for] extracting from objects their opposites— for instance, making a weak man strong or a silent one talkative ... an alibi to dream as well as to reality." He discusses the way in which wine has become an integral and defining component of French culture and society—part of the reason France is what it is. He contrasts the public perception of wine with that of milk, which he says is a much less popular and well regarded beverage. Because of its association with childhood, he writes, it...