on marriage and children

I'm still sorting through Black Bird, the work of M. Basilieres -- I can't decide if the author is like me, an English-speaking French-Canadian with a dose of guilt, or like something else. An Englishman with a French name who carries a dose of resentment.

I'll have more on that later.

For now, the words of Grandfather:

"When I was old enough to marry I was told that love is what makes us human, different from the animals, that love was the supreme expression of the union of two souls. But after I was first wed I discovered the trap a marriage could be, the endless lifelong series of obligations and compromises that keep us from being ourselves for ourselves. I was told that children were our way to immortality, but I learned that their disappointments and resentments were a sure road to the death of my soul." (p. 218)

This book is nothing if not positive.