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International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Abstract

I am a storyteller. One of my friends said about me that I think all sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them, and perhaps this is not entirely untrue. To me, the explanation of life seems to be its melody, its pattern. And I feel in life such an infinite, truly inconceivable fantasy. -Isak Dinesen Isak Dinesen considered any work of art as a manifestation of its own unique inner laws (Whissen, 1973, p. 67). If we accept the quotation above as given, it is germane to ask what constitutes a story. A little farther on in the interview quoted above, Dinesen referred to her own life as an unfinished tale. While the statement may have been made lightly, it serves to underscore a powerful dynamic in which artist and creation stand revealed in symbiotic relationship. By exploring Isak Dinesen's relationship with the title character of the short story, "Babette's Feast," understanding of these dynamics may be gained. This, in turn, may enable the arts-based leader to understand the nature of influence that artistic creation exerts. There is also in the story a powerful dynamic of servant-leadership, in which Babette's investment of service to the villagers makes possible her more unique creative gift. The servant and the artist also stand in relationship in "Babette's Feast." In order to examine the relationship between the story and the storyteller, it is necessary to introduce the characters in our tale.

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