Bearing Witness to a Knowledge of Encounter in Babette’s Feast

Abstract:The 1987 film Babette’s Feast portrays the transformation of a community through its participation in an artfully crafted meal. In this article, I seek to illuminate the educational significance of this transformation by considering Babette’s person and role through David Hansen’s reflective posture of bearing witness. I propose that the power of Babette’s teaching springs from her embodied understanding of the relationship between the self, others, and the environment in learning. Through her patient, thoughtful work, Babette inspires each guest to embrace a deeper understanding of themselves and their place within a world of others. I further reflect on the role of bearing witness for enabling and articulating a pedagogy like Babette’s.