from a generation in which one was what one did, not what one talked about.

~ Live & Learn

old-men-bench

Sonja said once that to understand men like Ove and Rune, one had to understand from the very beginning that they were men caught in the wrong time. Men who only required a few simple things from life, she said. A roof over their heads, a quiet street, the right make of car, and a woman to be faithful to. A job where you had a proper function. A house where things broke at regular intervals, so you always had something to tinker with. “All people want to live dignified lives; dignity just means something different to different people,” Sonja had said. To men like Ove and Rune dignity was simply that they’d had to manage on their own when they grew up, and therefore saw it as their right not to become reliant on others when they were adults. There was a sense of pride in having control. In being right. In knowing what road to take and how to screw in a screw, or not. Men like Ove and Rune were from a generation in which one was what one did, not what one talked about.

~ Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove: A Novel

Notes:

18 thoughts on “from a generation in which one was what one did, not what one talked about.”

  6. I’m afraid I disagree with “Sonja” when she says: “All people want to live dignified lives.” No matter how far you stretch the possible meaning of “dignity.” I’ve known people who enjoy their depraved lifestyle and spit on dignity. They are the minority, but the word “all” in her statement immediately makes it not true.

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        1. I do think ALL people want to lead dignified lives—what has happened—they have been beated down so far, they have given up HOPE…but, I think anyone, if enough belief is bestowed into them—will transform to something higher and more noble…and dignified…we do not believe enough in the possibility of one another…

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          2. Sorry, I disagree. I think for the most part you are right, but I have met people who enjoy being undignified. I suppose it’s possible that they might want dignity in their secret thoughts, but they make absolutely no effort, and this is in spite of many hands up to help them “get it together.” It’s like saying all people are good. They’re not. Most people are, but there are some who are not.

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