Book: Farewell Waltz
Quotes of Book: Farewell Waltz
Знаете ли, аз мисля, че животът трябва да се приема такъв, какъвто е. {...} Всичко е в божиите ръце и ние не знаем нищо за утрешния ден, с което искам да кажа, че да приемаш живота такъв, какъвто е, означава да приемеш непредсказуемото. А детето е негов събирателен образ. Детето е самата непредсказуемост. Не знаеш какво ще излезе от него, какво ще ти донесе и точно затова трябва да го приемеш. В противен случай живееш наполовина, живееш като човек, който не умее да плува и смао шляпа край брега, макар че истинското море е на дълбокото. book-quoteживотнепредсказуемостSvijetla kosa i tamna kosa, to su dva pola ljudskog karaktera. Tamna kosa znači muževnost, odvažnost, otvorenost i poduzetnost, dok je svijetla kosa simbol ženstvenosti, nježnosti, bespomoćnosti i pasivnosti. Plavuša je, prema tome, dvostruka žena. Princeza mora biti plavokosa. Zato žene, da bi bile ženstvenije, boje kosu u žuto, a nikad u crno. book-quoteBut I can cite ten other reasons for not being a father.""First of all, I don't like motherhood," said Jakub, and he broke off pensively. "Our century has already unmasked all myths. Childhood has long ceased to be an age of innocence. Freud discovered infant sexuality and told us all about Oedipus. Only Jocasta remains untouchable; no one dares tear off her veil. Motherhood is the last and greatest taboo, the one that harbors the most grievous curse. There is no stronger bond than the one that shackles mother to child. This bond cripples the child's soul forever and prepares for the mother, when her son has grown up, the most cruel of all the griefs of love. I say that motherhood is a curse, and I refuse to contribute to it.""Another reason I don't want to add to the number of mothers," said Jakub with some embarrassment, "is that I love the female body, and I am disgusted by the thought of my beloved's breast becoming a milk-bag.""The doctor here will certainly confirm that physicians and nurses treat women hospitalized after an aborted pregnancy more harshly than those who have given birth, and show some contempt toward them even though they themselves will, at least once in their lives, need a similar operation. But for them it's a reflex stronger than any kind of thought, because the cult of procreation is an imperative of nature. That's why it's useless to look for the slightest rational argument in natalist propaganda. Do you perhaps think it's the voice of Jesus you're hearing in the natalist morality of the church? Do you think it's the voice of Marx you're hearing in the natalist propaganda of the Communist state? Impelled merely by the desire to perpetuate the species, mankind will end up smothering itself on its small planet. But the natalist propaganda mill grinds on, and the public is moved to tears by pictures of nursing mothers and infants making faces. It disgusts me. It chills me to think that, along with millions of other enthusiasts, I could be bending over a cradle with a silly smile.""And of course I also have to ask myself what sort of world I'd be sending my child into. School soon takes him away to stuff his head with the falsehoods I've fought in vain against all my life. Should I see my son become a conformist fool? Or should I instill my own ideas into him and see him suffer because he'll be dragged into the same conflicts I was?""And of course I also have to think of myself. In this country children pay for their parents' disobedience, and parents for their children's disobedience. How many young people have been denied education because their parents fell into disgrace? And how many parents have chosen permanent cowardice for the sole purpose of preventing harm to their children? Anyone who wants to preserve at least some freedom here shouldn't have children," Jakub said, and fell into silence."The last reason carries so much weight that it counts for five," said Jakub. "Having a child is to show an absolute accord with mankind. If I have a child, it's as though I'm saying: I was born and have tasted life and declare it so good that it merits being duplicated.""And you have not found life to be good?" asked Bertlef.Jakub tried to be precise, and said cautiously: "All I know is that I could never say with complete conviction: Man is a wonderful being and I want to reproduce him." book-quotechildbirth
