"When I asked you to help me, [the Dead Father] said, it wasn’t because I needed help. Of course not, said Thomas. I’m doing this for you, essentially, the Dead Father said. For the general good, and thus, for you. Thomas said nothing. As so much else, said the Dead Father. Thomas said nothing. You never knew, said the Dead Father. Thomas turned his head. You told us, he said, repeatedly. Oh well yes I may have mentioned the odd initiative now and again. But you never knew. In the fullest sense. Because you are not a father. I am, Thomas said. You forget Elsie. Doesn’t count, said the Dead Father. A son can never, in the fullest sense, become a father. Some amount of amateur effort is possible. A son may after honest endeavor produce what some people might call, technically, children. But he remains a son. In the fullest sense."
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Original Language: English
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Sources
pp. 45–46
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Dead_Father
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The Dead Father
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