--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is at a time like this, when crisis…" description: "\"It is at a time like this, when crisis threatens the stomach, that the French display the most sympathetic side of their nature. Tell them stories of p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/peter-mayle-13285_crisis_it-is-at-a-time-like-this-when-crisis-th_2637069.jpg" --- # It is at a time like this, when crisis threatens the… ![“It is at a time like this, when crisis threatens the stomach, that the French display the most sympathetic side of their nature. Tell them stories of physical injury or financial ruin and they will either laugh or commiserate politely. But tell them you are facing gastronomic hardship, and they…” quote by Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/peter-mayle-13285_crisis_it-is-at-a-time-like-this-when-crisis-th_2637069.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/peter-mayle-13285_crisis_it-is-at-a-time-like-this-when-crisis-th_2637069.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/peter-mayle-13285_crisis_it-is-at-a-time-like-this-when-crisis-th_2637069.jpg) > “It is at a time like this, when crisis threatens the stomach, that the French display the most sympathetic side of their nature. Tell them stories of physical injury or financial ruin and they will either laugh or commiserate politely. But tell them you are facing gastronomic hardship, and they will move heaven and earth and even restaurant tables to help you.” [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. French people respond more readily to emotional, everyday hardships than abstract crises. **In simple terms:** They help with personal, relatable problems more than distant ones. Key Takeaway Appeal to personal experience when seeking assistance. Themes empathy culture humanity helpfulness Mood warm observational Type cultural social When to use this quote - restaurant complaints - financial advice - health emergencies Key Concepts social psychology hospitality community support Questions to Reflect On - What makes a hardship feel personal enough to elicit help? - How does cultural identity influence generosity? A Different Perspective Some may view such generosity as superficial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commiserate Politely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commiserate-politely-2237447/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Facing Gastronomic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facing-gastronomic-2237448/) [Financial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial/) [Gastronomic Hardship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gastronomic-hardship-2237445/) [Hardship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardship/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Heaven and earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-and-earth/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Injury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injury/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Restaurants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restaurants/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Stomach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stomach/) [Stomach French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stomach-french-2237444/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic/) [Tables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tables/) [Threatens Stomach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threatens-stomach-2237446/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I don't try to kind of go for the overly sympathetic. I don't really like sympathy; I don't like it for myself. Sometimes sympathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/i-don-t-try-to-kind-of-go-for-the-overly-sympathetic-i-don-t-really/) [Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/) > [Who would have guessed that the shots heard 'round the world 225 years ago would fall on deaf ears in a nation now more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/who-would-have-guessed-that-the-shots-heard-round-the-world-225-years/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [I would hesitate to tell people to stop being kind or sympathetic to sociopath. 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I see how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-had-a-hard-time-treating-my-field-as-if-it-s-horse-racing-putting/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Strange how love coexists with hate, how they render eachother mute, how the swilling of them together makes a new and softer, sympathetic thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-hartnett/strange-how-love-coexists-with-hate-how-they-render-eachother-mute/) [Sonya Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-hartnett/) > [The science of the future will be based on sympathetic vibrations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/the-science-of-the-future-will-be-based-on-sympathetic-vibrations/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [You can't dictate if a character's going to come off as sympathetic to an audience. I just tried to play it as honest as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-wahlberg/you-can-t-dictate-if-a-character-s-going-to-come-off-as-sympathetic/) [Donnie Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-wahlberg/) > [No place could be less sympathetic to my politics than America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/no-place-could-be-less-sympathetic-to-my-politics-than-america/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [Demographically, I'm a hippie from San Francisco and I'm not culturally inclined to be sympathetic to states' rights. My cultural heritage is FDR and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/demographically-i-m-a-hippie-from-san-francisco-and-i-m-not/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [...I have to tell you that I'm not all that comfortable with the idea of spending the rest of my life sleeping next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/i-have-to-tell-you-that-i-m-not-all-that-comfortable-with-the-idea-of/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [The easiest way for readers to connect with characters and feel sympathy is to make the character entertaining, sympathetic and likeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randa-abdel-fattah/the-easiest-way-for-readers-to-connect-with-characters-and-feel/) [Randa Abdel-Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randa-abdel-fattah/) > [1992 is not a year I shall look back on with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-elizabeth-ii/1992-is-not-a-year-i-shall-look-back-on-with-undiluted-pleasure-in/) [Queen Elizabeth II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-elizabeth-ii/) ## More by Peter Mayle > [Very little happens in my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/very-little-happens-in-my-books/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [I have a very set routine. I work six days a week, but only half days. I work from 9 in the morning till…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/i-have-a-very-set-routine-i-work-six-days-a-week-but-only-half-days-i/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [“Beh oui. Better sticky than burned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/beh-oui-better-sticky-than-burned/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [I am a great believer in people taking control of their own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/i-am-a-great-believer-in-people-taking-control-of-their-own-lives/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [Nowadays, if you have a journey, albeit a simple one, you consider yourself lucky if nothing happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/nowadays-if-you-have-a-journey-albeit-a-simple-one-you-consider/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [No matter what their background, the southern French are fascinated by food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/no-matter-what-their-background-the-southern-french-are-fascinated-by/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [The day when a Frenchman switches from the formality of vous to the familiarity of tu is a day to be taken seriously. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/the-day-when-a-frenchman-switches-from-the-formality-of-vous-to-the/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [“Next to the defeated politician, the writer is the most vocal and inventive griper on earth. He sees hardship and unfairness wherever he looks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/next-to-the-defeated-politician-the-writer-is-the-most-vocal-and/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [“We had been here often before as tourists, desperate for our annual ration of two or three weeks of true heat and sharp light.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/we-had-been-here-often-before-as-tourists-desperate-for-our-annual/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [Day after day we looked for rain, and day after day we saw nothing but the sun. Lavender that we had planted in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/day-after-day-we-looked-for-rain-and-day-after-day-we-saw-nothing-but/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [“Only snobs kiss once, I was told, or those unfortunates who suffer from congenital froideur. I then saw what I assumed to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/only-snobs-kiss-once-i-was-told-or-those-unfortunates-who-suffer-from/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [“He then expounded a remarkable theory, which had occurred to him while he was playing the clarinet during one of the power cuts that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/he-then-expounded-a-remarkable-theory-which-had-occurred-to-him-while/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [“The effect of the weather on the inhabitants of Provence is immediate and obvious. They expect every day to be sunny, and their disposition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/the-effect-of-the-weather-on-the-inhabitants-of-provence-is-immediate/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [Sundays in France have a different atmosphere to other days, with fewer phone calls, no postman, no delivery men and no one banging on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/sundays-in-france-have-a-different-atmosphere-to-other-days-with/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [It's very nice to meet the people who read my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/it-s-very-nice-to-meet-the-people-who-read-my-books/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) [Explore all 50 Peter Mayle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) ## More Crisis quotes > [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wright/the-crisis-of-our-diminishing-water-resources-is-just-as-severe-if/) [Jim Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-wright/) > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [Disasters affect every state, and North Carolinians have given our own tax dollars to help neighbors and those in other states in times of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/disasters-affect-every-state-and-north-carolinians-have-given-our-own/) [Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/) > [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. Each of us, to relieve his feelings, broadcasts his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/things-happen-too-quickly-crisis-follows-crisis-the-soil-of-our-minds/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [When this coronavirus crisis is over, what kind of society will we be? A more important question is what kind of society do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lucas/when-this-coronavirus-crisis-is-over-what-kind-of-society-will-we-be/) [Caroline Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lucas/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Firstly, economic globalisation has brought prosperity and development to many countries, but also financial crises to Asia, Latin America and Russia, and increasing poverty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-lindh/firstly-economic-globalisation-has-brought-prosperity-and-development/) [Anna Lindh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-lindh/) > [If we Europeans are not in a state to be able to solve the refugee crisis ourselves, if we only depend on Plan B…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-kurz/if-we-europeans-are-not-in-a-state-to-be-able-to-solve-the-refugee/) [Sebastian Kurz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-kurz/) > [Urbanisation is not a crisis but an opportunity, seeing it as a crisis is wrong. And not just villages, we want everyone to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/urbanisation-is-not-a-crisis-but-an-opportunity-seeing-it-as-a-crisis/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) [Browse all 3,419 Crisis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is at a time like this, when crisis threatens the stomach, that the French display the most sympathetic side of their nature. Tell them stories of physical injury or financial ruin and they will either laugh or commiserate politely. 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