Gluttony In Rebecca Deyoung's Glittering Vices

Millions of people begin each day with a cup of coffee. They likely believe that they prepare the drink by brewing grounded coffee beans in water. However, that is not completely accurate; the term coffee bean is a misnomer. The grounded substance was a seed, not a legume. Perhaps in a similar way, mislabeling has happened to gluttony. In her book Glittering Vices, Rebecca DeYoung argues there is more to gluttony than simply overindulging. She wrote, “Gluttony is about taking excessive pleasure in food” (143). In this paper, I will overview DeYoung’s view of gluttony, including her understanding of what constitutes it and highlight its noticeable aspects, such as the glutton’s stomach becoming their demigod. Then, I will give my reflection on the topic. Last, I will argue that DeYoung overlooked egoism and narcissism’s relationship to envy. She argues that the envious are envious for the reason, they do not have self-love (44); however, their narcissism drives their envy for whatever it is they lack.

Perhaps, Augustus Gloop, in the 1971 movie, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. His insatiable appetite led him to fall into the chocolate river. DeYoung writes, “Gluttony is not about how much we are eating, but about how our eating reflects how much pleasure we take in eating food and why” (140). The pleasure of eating becomes a person’s master, and this is a noticeable property of gluttony (141). Food is the way that person satisfies a felt need. She writes, “When the gluttonous feel need or emptiness, they do not want to have to depend on God or wait on God to fill it” (156). Therefore, the eating becomes a mission to self-gratification and appeasing their appetite becomes their highest unction. Their stomach has become the master, as Paul wrote, “… their god is their belly…” (Philippians 3:19