I love Somerset Maugham's short stories because of the way he presents conventional wisdom in very plain yet refreshing language. Here's one quotation from "A Marriage of Convenience," a short story about how an ugly french governer married his wife in a record time:
"'The fact is that in a marriage of convenience you expect less and so you are less likely to be disappointed. As you do not make senseless claims on one another there is no reason for exasperation. You do not look for perfection and so you are tolerant to one another's faults. Passion is all very well, but it is not a proper foundation for marriage. Voyez-vous, for two people to be happy in marriage they must be able to respect one another, they must be of the same condition, and their interests must be alike; then if they are decent people and are willing to give and take, to live and let live, there is no reason why their union should not be as happy as ours.'"
Simplicity is the virtue I cherish; and there's an abundance of it in Maugham's writings.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I know a few people who do pre-marital counselling - working through the issues that a couple has so they have an easier transition into marriage and so on. One of them told me once that the people can be so different that in fact, just about any two people could get married and make it work. as long as they're prepared to stick it out.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I agree, but it's a comforting thought.