shootingstar
Member
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2022
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- German
- Home Country
- Germany
- Current Location
- Germany
(Betty and William talking about the disaster of Aberfan, Wales; William was one of the undertakers, who helped coffin the poor little children of Pantglas primary school. He is still suffering from the impression of this tragedy and doesn't even want to think about having a child or becoming a father. Betty is a citizen of Aberfan)
'God knows we've suffered in Aberfan and it's been hellish. Long, hard and hellish. But we're still here.' . . . 'And we've managed to laugh as well as cry, and there are new children and the school is full and there are reasons for living. Lots of them. What you did here, that terrible job, made unbearable moments bearable. And in my experience, that's what happens. . . And in our darkest days, William, you helped us. Now at some point . . . you might need help. And I believe you'll get it.' She frowns a little. 'And it seems to me that if Mary (another citizen of Aberfan who lost her young girl at the disaster but has had two more children since, a boy and a girl) could find the courage to risk all that agony all over again, you can take that risk too.'
William soaks in Betty's words, her presence, her goodwill. He feels no need to say anything.
'You do love Gloria, don't you?' Betty asks.
'Oh, yes,' he answers, and the resolve with which he says it releases something, something he's held tight, like a clenched muscle. . .
'Now,' Betty says, 'this is all very private, but I seem to be slap bang in the middle of it, so I'll say my piece and then I'll be done. All right?'
'All right,' he says softly.
'It seems to me, that out of all this pain you've put people through, including yourself, a very good thing can come' - she glances up the stairs (where Gloria, William's wife, who is pregnant, is sleeping) - 'for all three of you. The end of this chapter and the start of the next is that you become a father, knowing far better than those who've never seen the suffering you have, just how precious this child is, even before it's arrived! And that, William, seems a bit of a gift, don't you think?'
He nods.
(From A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe, Part V, Aberfan, scene 65)
I don't really know what "all this pain you've put people through, including yourself" means in this context. The problem is the (phrasal ?) verb "put someone through something". In fact, I don't even know if it's the phrasal verb. I know these two meanings of it (put someone through something). I can't really imagine the version "to make someone experience something unpleasant or difficult" to be right because William didn't make someone experience something unpleasant or difficult at all - there were the unfortunate, terrible circumstances - the disaster - that made people experience something "unpleasant" and horrible, not William!
'God knows we've suffered in Aberfan and it's been hellish. Long, hard and hellish. But we're still here.' . . . 'And we've managed to laugh as well as cry, and there are new children and the school is full and there are reasons for living. Lots of them. What you did here, that terrible job, made unbearable moments bearable. And in my experience, that's what happens. . . And in our darkest days, William, you helped us. Now at some point . . . you might need help. And I believe you'll get it.' She frowns a little. 'And it seems to me that if Mary (another citizen of Aberfan who lost her young girl at the disaster but has had two more children since, a boy and a girl) could find the courage to risk all that agony all over again, you can take that risk too.'
William soaks in Betty's words, her presence, her goodwill. He feels no need to say anything.
'You do love Gloria, don't you?' Betty asks.
'Oh, yes,' he answers, and the resolve with which he says it releases something, something he's held tight, like a clenched muscle. . .
'Now,' Betty says, 'this is all very private, but I seem to be slap bang in the middle of it, so I'll say my piece and then I'll be done. All right?'
'All right,' he says softly.
'It seems to me, that out of all this pain you've put people through, including yourself, a very good thing can come' - she glances up the stairs (where Gloria, William's wife, who is pregnant, is sleeping) - 'for all three of you. The end of this chapter and the start of the next is that you become a father, knowing far better than those who've never seen the suffering you have, just how precious this child is, even before it's arrived! And that, William, seems a bit of a gift, don't you think?'
He nods.
(From A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe, Part V, Aberfan, scene 65)
I don't really know what "all this pain you've put people through, including yourself" means in this context. The problem is the (phrasal ?) verb "put someone through something". In fact, I don't even know if it's the phrasal verb. I know these two meanings of it (put someone through something). I can't really imagine the version "to make someone experience something unpleasant or difficult" to be right because William didn't make someone experience something unpleasant or difficult at all - there were the unfortunate, terrible circumstances - the disaster - that made people experience something "unpleasant" and horrible, not William!
Last edited:
