The Dinner

Claire is Paul’s wife and, as revealed over the course of the novel, her morality is just as malleable as that of her husband. At first, Claire seems to be the quiet, caring mother. She dotes on her son, to the point that she invokes her husband’s jealousy. Claire is attentive and emotionally intelligent, consoling Babette when it seems that Babette is upset and halting many of Paul’s socially unacceptable impulses with little more than a look. But as the narrative progresses, Paul (and the audience) begin to realize that Claire is far more complicit in the cover-up of the murder than anyone had suspected. Claire will do anything to protect Michel, which includes hand waving away the murder of a homeless woman and stabbing her brother-in-law in the face with a broken wine glass.

Toward the end of the novel, Paul discovers a newfound admiration for Claire. Though he has always been affectionate toward her (often imagining burying his face in her hair, for example), he respects her ability to lie, manipulate, and commit acts of violence. When he realizes that she has been constructing an alibi for their son and that she has told Michel to potentially murder Beau, Paul is delighted, joined now in his violent impulses and morally dubious behavior by the woman he loves. He no longer has to hide his impulses. Because the narrative comes entirely from Paul’s perspective, the audience discovers Claire’s amorality just as he does. Thus, Paul presents it through a lens of admiration rather than condemnation. That Claire is prepared to do anything for Michel is an admiral quality for Paul, creating a cognitive dissonance within the narrative. The audience knows her actions are not morally sound yet the narrative presents them (from Paul’s perspective) as commendable. In this respect, Claire’s evolution as a character shows to the audience the tension at the heart of the narrative, which begs the question of how far one might go in order to protect a child. 

Serge is Paul’s successful older brother. Expected to be the next prime minister of the Netherlands, he is famous throughout the country. But seen from Paul’s perspective, Serge seems a deeply loathsome man. He is pretentious and cynical. He barely masks his boorish, lumpen character behind a polished political sheen. When introduced to the narrative, Serge arrives in the restaurant and his wife is already in tears. Serge’s lack of empathy toward Babette’s palpable sadness turns the audience against him and adds to Serge’s negative qualities.

Though Serge does not change throughout the novel, the evolution of the other characters casts him in a new light. By the end of the meal, Serge is the only one of the four diners who is willing to expose the murder committed by the two boys. He is not willing to live with the death of the homeless woman on his conscience. That he even hints at the existence of a conscience elevates him above the other characters in a moral sense, all of whom are happy to cover up the murder and pretend that it never happened. There is a nuance to this, however. Serge is not necessarily acting in the interests of morality. He sees exposing the crime through the paradigm of his political career. Indeed, he does not intend to go to the police but has chosen to host a press conference instead. As such, his decision to expose the criminal nature of Rick and Michel is a political act rather than a moral act. Serge is not acting out of guilt but because of his own self-interest. Still, this narcissistic facsimile of morality is the closest any character comes to doing the right thing. While he may be acting for the wrong reasons—and confirming Paul’s low opinion of his brother—Serge is nevertheless the only character who is prepared to take a moral position on the murder.

As a result of this, Serge loses everything. Claire stabs him in the face and costs him the election. The murder remains covered up and Serge loses his political status. In a novel which ends with immortality as the victor, Serge receives punishment for taking a principled stance, even though he does so for the wrong reasons. 

Serge’s wife and possible future First Lady of the Netherlands, Babette is a difficult character to analyze. At first, she appears to be beside herself with grief. The assumption is that the actions of her child have driven her into sadness and she cannot cope with the potential aftermath of what will happen to Rick. But toward the end of the novel, it’s revealed that Babette’s sadness actually stems from Serge’s decision to withdraw from the election. She has no trouble with covering up the murder of the homeless woman and does not want her husband to sacrifice his political career. They have worked too long and hard to give up on their dream over the small matter of the death of one homeless woman. In this respect, Babette becomes the best embodiment of the complete moral abandonment which settles over the table at the close of the narrative.

By the end of the meal, every character but Serge seems intent on ignoring their moral responsibility. They are happy to allow the murder to remain unsolved, to allow their children to walk away unpunished. Babette, throughout the meal, has been emotionally fraught. She has wept, shouted, sworn, and acted in an unpredictable manner. But rather than feel emotionally punished by her son’s actions, she is acting purely in self-interest. This battle between self-interest and morality easily becomes a victory for the former, as it is for every character. Babette embodies the satire of the novel, the manner in which these rich and privileged characters will quickly put aside their morality in order to preserve (or extend) their good fortune.

An example of this is Babette’s treatment of her dessert. She makes her choice and—when it arrives at the table—she suddenly changes her mind. She demands that the floor manager take it back and then insults the floor manager when he hesitates in doing exactly as she demands. In this situation, Babette is in the wrong. She is rude, uncompromising, and unpredictable. But she casts herself as the victim, blaming others for her sudden change of mind. The treatment of the dessert functions as the characters’ conception of morality in a microcosm: They are privileged beyond belief but—at the slightest hint of an issue—they react violently and blame everyone else for their failings. This attitude appears in the murder and in the parents’ reaction to the murder. As a result, Babette becomes the functional embodiment of the novel’s satire of the rich and powerful.