I had this post in mind since
I blogged about tea recently, and earlier on about
unpasterised milk. A member of my wife's family, when I mentioned that their national drink was in essence so foreign (perfumed hot water), mentioned that the only thing the Brits added to it was the dash of milk. And it stayed in my head. I love milk, I drink a lot of it, but I love by itself. I wondered if the Brits had not spoiled tea with that dash of milk, in a way barbarised it. It seems significant that China, a very ancient civilisation, maybe the oldest one, has
a high number of lactose intolerant people. Putting milk in tea seems almost philistine.
Because there is something primitive, even barbarous and uncivilised, about
milk and dairy products in general (and I say this as a milk drinker). It might not seem like it for Westerners nowadays, what with the French cheese tradition and modern
pasteurization, but it is one of the most primal drink. Milk is something you give to babies and toddlers, which they usually grow out of when they grow up and reach adulthood. Ancient traditions have milk
as a very positive but primitive icon. Even its whiteness emphasises its simplicity. Milk is earthly, bestial, almost untouched by civilisation, even when turned into cream or cheese.
During my years as an undergraduate, in a course on Greek literature, my teacher had told us that
Polyphemus being a shepherd and
like other Cyclops a cheese eater might have been a sign of his savage nature, especially since he got vanquished by by getting drunk. Cheese was the stuff
Barbarians would eat, the Greeks had wine, olive oil, figs, etc. But there are more modern examples: my
favourite writer made Alex a milk drinker. You read
this text of
Liana Burgess about this particular motif in the novel.
The barbaric nature of milk should not make us forget its appeal. I don't care much about
health concerns surrounding it, as I strongly (but maybe subjectively) believe
in its virtues. Milk is also and more importantly, as Liana pointed out, a sign of purity and innocence.
As I have finally finished it, here is today's reading suggestion: Circe by Madeline Miller. An
autobiography of the minor goddess and the world's first witch. Veggie Carrie bought
it for me on my birthday. I rarely read a novel published in the year if
it's not crime fiction but I've always been into Greek mythology. And I
was pleasantly surprised with Circe. Modernisation of old myths often
end up to be glorified fanfics, but this one has heart. Miller gave
Greek gods and heroes character and complexity. I particularly liked her
take on Hermes and Odysseus. Less so with Athena, but I am a big fan of the goddess and she is in this novel more antagonistic, so this is a completely subjective criticism. Inn any case, Miller understands the dubious moral nature of Greek mythology and does not fall into cheap Manichean narrative. And she also uses Greek names, not Roman
ones. During a summer heatwave, you can't go wrong going Greek.
