Monday 16 December 2019

She's very noticeably a Christian don't you think? I'm amazed how mean she makes me feel

"Life would be grand if it weren't for the people," said Vera moodily. "That sounds like a quotation, but I think I just made it up. The problem is that Kimberley is a Christian. Well, that's fine. We could use a Christian or two. For that matter, I am not un-Christian. But she's very noticeably a Christian don't you think? I'm amazed how mean she makes me feel."

A. Munro, 'Labor day dinner', The moons of Jupiter (1984), 144

I like this because it's so deliciously double-edged from a woman about her prospective daughter in law. Is it Kimberley's behaviour that shames the narrator. Or is Kimberley irritatingly religious? I think it's also pretty much on point for dating, capturing that still ambiguous point about the moral position of religion a generation ago.

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