Casanova's Chinese Restaurant

‰ЫПA future marriage, or a past one, may be investigated and explained in terms of writing by one of its parties, but it is doubtful whether an existing marriage can ever be described directly in the first person and convey a sense of reality. Even those writers who suggest some of the substance of married life best, stylise heavily, losing the subtlety of the relationship at the price of a few accurately recorded, but isolated, aspects. To think at all objectively about one‰ЫЄs own marriage is impossible, while a balanced view of other people‰ЫЄs marriage is almost equally hard to achieve with so much information available, so little to be believed. Objectivity is not, of course, everything in writing; but if one has cast objectivity aside, the difficulties of presenting marriage are inordinate. Its forms are at once so varied, yet so constant, providing a kaleidoscope, the colours of which are always changing, always the same. The moods of a love affair, the contradictions of friendship, the jealously of business partners, the fellow feeling of opposed commanders in total war, these are all in their way to be charted. Marriage, partaking of such ‰ЫУ and a thousand more ‰ЫУ dual antagonisms and participations, finally defies definition.‰Ыќ

‰ЫПProbability is the bane of the age ‰Ы_ Every Tom, Dick, and Harry thinks he knows what is probable. The fact is most people have not the smallest idea what is going on round them. Their conclusions about life are based on utterly irrelevant ‰ЫУ and usually inaccurate ‰ЫУ premises.‰Ыќ