She’d been in Italy a year before meeting Enzo, who intrigued her as soon as she saw him because his look was more casual American than polished Italian. He was working on an advanced degree and supported himself making leather goods. Sylvie made him teach her how. Soon she was showing him how to streamline his operation by making reusable patterns. In a matter of weeks they were spending most of their time together. She luxuriated in his company when they were together and longed for him when they weren’t. To her, their synergy and her intense feelings spelled love.
She was cutting a pattern and he was attaching a cowhide strap when he blurted out that he wanted to have a family someday.
“You’re the first man I’ve known who said he wanted children,” she replied.
Truly, she’d never discussed children with a man. But last year in Mantua, she saw her 28-year-old friend Patrizia panic about her waning fertility as her male friends said by age twenty-three a woman was too old for marriage. Such pressure troubled Sylvie too, although she wasn’t raised to be a woman who dreamed of motherhood but rather one to finish college and have a career. In fact, her mom had never exposed her to newborns, and children misbehaving in public always
prompted Mom to mutter, “Lousy little kids.” Whenever Sylvie had asked Mom why she’d had children when they clearly annoyed her, she replied, “Society expects it.”
Now Sylvie told Enzo, “I’m not ready to have children,
if I ever do.”…she wasn’t raised to be a woman who dreamed of motherhood but rather one to finish
college and have a career. In fact, her mom had never exposed her to newborns, and children misbehaving in public always prompted Mom to mutter, “Lousy little kids.” Whenever
Sylvie had asked Mom why she’d had children when they clearly annoyed her, she replied, “Society expects it.”
Now Sylvie told Enzo, “I’m not ready to have children, if I ever do.”
“Ready?” Enzo said. “Capitalist hogwash! Children enrich life—they are life! You just need some extra food and clothes and you pack him up and bring him along. Think what fun with a little baby playing around!” He pulled her close and gazed into her eyes, reminding her
how long she’d yearned to escape suburban artifice and plunge into life’s core, to feel its pulse, to be more in her body. She’d experienced such exuberance in Italy where parents included children in ways unthinkable in Sylvie’s suburban American world. Children were often seen eating at restaurants late into the evening, attending adult parties, listening in on their parents’ conversations, so she was starting to see them as life-affirming rather than an obstacle to her career plans. She enjoyed discovering these cultural differences with Enzo.
Your blog has such a unique look.Thank you so much for including "Sylvie Denied." I really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteYour blog has such a unique design -- thanks for including "Sylvie Denied" here and featuring an excerpt! I greatly appreciate it.
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