Is there a deeper meaning to Fabienne's pot belly talk?
In Pulp Fiction, after Butch returns from the boxing match to his girlfriend in the middle of the night, they engage in a curious conversation about the pros and cons of having a pot belly.
Quoting from the script:
When Butch and Fabienne speak to each other, they speak in
babytalk.
FABIENNE
I was looking at myself in the mirror.
BUTCH
Uh-huh?
FABIENNE
I wish I had a pot.
BUTCH
You were lookin' in the mirror and
you wish you had some pot?
FABIENNE
A pot. A pot belly. Pot bellies are
sexy.
BUTCH
Well you should be happy, 'cause you
do.
FABIENNE
Shut up, Fatso! I don't have a pot!
I have a bit of a tummy, like Madonna
when she did "Lucky Star," it's not
the same thing.
BUTCH
I didn't realize there was a
difference between a tummy and a pot
belly.
FABIENNE
The difference is huge.
BUTCH
You want me to have a pot?
FABIENNE
No. Pot bellies make a man look either
oafish, or like a gorilla. But on a
woman, a pot belly is very sexy. The
rest of you is normal. Normal face,
normal legs, normal hips, normal
ass, but with a big, perfectly round
pot belly. If I had one, I'd wear a
tee-shirt two sizes too small to
accentuate it.
BUTCH
You think guys would find that
attractive?
FABIENNE
I don't give a damn what men find
attractive. It's unfortunate what we
find pleasing to the touch and
pleasing to the eye is seldom the
same.
BUTCH
If you a pot belly, I'd punch you in
it.
FABIENNE
You'd punch me in my belly?
BUTCH
Right in the belly.
FABIENNE
I'd smother you. I'd drop it on your
right on your face 'til you couldn't
breathe.
BUTCH
You'd do that to me?
FABIENNE
Yes!
I am not a native English speaker and thus not familiar with the usual contexts in which the term pot belly is used.
Fabienne and Butch are obviously fooling around (as is indicated by the initial direction in the script), but I was wondering whether there was a hidden meaning to this particular section of dialogue. Is Fabienne asking Butch if he wants to have a baby with her?
Best Answer
I'd always wondered exactly why we got so much of the little relationship details between Butch and Fabienne. I decided that the subtext of the scenes was that she was pregnant. It explains a lot, including that Butch was getting out of boxing and getting serious about settling down, and why he dreamed of his father's gold watch before the fight.
After rewatching the film, I decided that she probably was, and that was part of the point of seeing those scenes. I then decided to look up what the name Fabienne means, because of the theory that all the names in Pulp Fiction mean something, except for Esmarelda the Cab driver, who tells us that all names mean something.
Fabienne is a female version of the Roman family name Fabius, which means 'Bean Grower'.
Pregnant.
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More answers regarding is there a deeper meaning to Fabienne's pot belly talk?
Answer 2
I think Fabienne really is talking about her belly and bellies in general. I don't believe there is meant to be a deeper meaning.
But I don't believe the dialogue is intended to be random, cool, or otherwise affected as much as the dialogue is a window into the characters (Fabienne somewhat vain; Butch playful and teasing) and their relationship (intimate and playful). And perhaps most importantly the dialogue serves as a lead-in to the love-making that occurs later in the scene.
Also, the dialogue mentions Madonna -- as did a choice bit of dialogue in Reservoir Dogs.
Answer 3
Standard Tarrantino fare. I don't feel like she's talking about being pregnant, as some women don't even get that big and even if they do it's only for a short period of time. I'd lean more towards it being yet another "I'm cool because I'm so random" chat between characters in a Tarrantino movie.
Answer 4
The implication I got was that this line was to do with Feederism (AKA Fat Fetishism)1
Fabienne talks about wearing clothes which are two sizes too small, and showing off a woman's ( or man's) stuffed stomach is a big part of most fat fetishes. Also, the line about smothering Butch with her belly really strikes me as being quite erotic in nature.
The thing that cemented this for me was the line in a subsequent scene, where Fabienne talks about ordering excessive amounts of food, and slathering it in melted cheese.
I know that Tarantino leaves little hints as to his foot fetish in his works ("Wiggle your big toe", anyone?) so it wouldn't surprise me to see him referencing other fetishes.
That's just my reading, anyhow.
Answer 5
There is no mistaking that she is talking about the desire to be pregnant, with his baby. She wants to show it off and she wants him to make it happen. No doubt. Ridiculous if anyone thinks otherwise.
Her character is not American, she's foreign to America so her vocabulary may not be what you'd expect from English speaking Americans.
Answer 6
She says what she means. Feeling a woman with a larger belly feels amazing, (not hard pot belly but soft, like post-pregnancy when the belly is more malleable and fluffy).
Some people, even though they may not like the looks of a chubbier woman, would love the feel of one. They'd never know though, until they tried.
Answer 7
You're all wrong...there WAS a time when a pot belly was considered sexy on a woman. She's not talking about being pregnant. I remember my mother telling me that when I was very young and I was surprised when I heard it discussed in Pulp Fiction. And whoever said women don't have pot bellies unless they're pregnant, that's ridiculous.
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