Food serves as an important symbol in the novel, particularly for female characters. Preparing, eating, and enjoying food is generally associated with characters’ (most notably Mallory’s) ability—or lack thereof—to enjoy and nourish themselves. It also introduces an element of sensuality to female characters since food is often described in sensory terms such as sight, smell, texture, taste, etc. It is telling, then, that Ursula diets, picks at her food, and “now looked severely malnourished—passing supermodel stage, heading for famine victim” (61).

Mallory, conversely, loves food and Jake is attracted to her enthusiasm for it: “She loaded a pancake with moo shu pork until it was dripping and messy and took a lusty bite. Jake was so stunned by the vision of a woman enjoying her food rather than battling it that he wondered if he might be falling in love with her” (58). She is culinarily adventurous, preparing the Middle Eastern dish baba ghanouj. Again, her enthusiasm for food is apparent: “The result is so delicious, Mallory can’t scoop it into her mouth fast enough” (106). Continuing the food imagery, one of the two characters’ rituals is Jake preparing an omelet for Mallory, who eagerly devours it.