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What does the voyage to the Oracle of the Holy Bottle seek to discover?

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François Rabelais
François Rabelais François Rabelais's creative exuberance, colorful and wide-ranging vocabulary, and literary variety, as displayed in Gargantua and Pantagruel, earned him a lasting place in the history of French literature.

In the series Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais, the voyage to the Oracle of the Holy Bottle is undertaken primarily to resolve the anxieties of Panurge.21

Panurge, a companion of the sage Pantagruel, is deeply conflicted about whether or not he should marry. He is plagued by fears that he will be cuckolded, beaten, or robbed by a future wife. After consulting various prognosticators, judges, and philosophers to no avail—largely due to his own self-absorption and lack of trust—he persuades Pantagruel and their friends to embark on a journey to the temple of the Holy Bottle (the Dive Bouteille) to seek a definitive answer regarding his marital prospects.12

Upon finally reaching the oracle in the fifth book, the travelers receive a single-word response: "Drink!"2