email to my father
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 1,572
I am in tears reading this, amazing letter.
I don't think I will ever write such a thing for my mother, I have long given up on her ever admitting any issues much less asking for feedback.
I hope for the best for you and your family. At least you can feel that nothing has gone unsaid.
I don't think I will ever write such a thing for my mother, I have long given up on her ever admitting any issues much less asking for feedback.
I hope for the best for you and your family. At least you can feel that nothing has gone unsaid.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 525
Dearest Father,
You asked me recently why I claim to be afraid of you. I did not know, as usual, how to answer, partly for the very reason that I am afraid of you, partly because an explanation of my fear would require more details than could even begin to make coherent in speech. And if I now try to answer in writing it will still be nowhere near complete, because even in writing my fear and its consequences raise a barrier between us and because the magnitude of material far exceeds my memory and my understanding.
To you the matter always seemed very simple, at least in as far as you spoke about it in front of me and, indiscriminately, in front of many others.
To you it seemed like this: you had worked hard your whole life, sacrificed everything for your children, particularly me, as a result I lived “like a lord”, had complete freedom to study whatever I wanted, knew where my next meal was coming from and therefore had no reason to worry about anything; for this you asked no gratitude, you know how children show their gratitude, but at least some kind of cooperation, a sign of sympathy; instead I would always hide away from you in my room, buried in books, with crazy friends and eccentric ideas; we never spoke openly...
This is a long letter, with the same motivations as your letter.
Here's the whole thing:
Letter to my Father by Franz Kafka
You asked me recently why I claim to be afraid of you. I did not know, as usual, how to answer, partly for the very reason that I am afraid of you, partly because an explanation of my fear would require more details than could even begin to make coherent in speech. And if I now try to answer in writing it will still be nowhere near complete, because even in writing my fear and its consequences raise a barrier between us and because the magnitude of material far exceeds my memory and my understanding.
To you the matter always seemed very simple, at least in as far as you spoke about it in front of me and, indiscriminately, in front of many others.
To you it seemed like this: you had worked hard your whole life, sacrificed everything for your children, particularly me, as a result I lived “like a lord”, had complete freedom to study whatever I wanted, knew where my next meal was coming from and therefore had no reason to worry about anything; for this you asked no gratitude, you know how children show their gratitude, but at least some kind of cooperation, a sign of sympathy; instead I would always hide away from you in my room, buried in books, with crazy friends and eccentric ideas; we never spoke openly...
This is a long letter, with the same motivations as your letter.
Here's the whole thing:
Letter to my Father by Franz Kafka
Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 688
I didn't read the whole thing, and probably won't, but this stood out to me:
This is my AF. His opinion is always correct. He knows everything. He can do everything. He's never, ever wrong.
Your opinion was correct, every other was mad, wild, meshugge, not normal. Your self-confidence indeed was so great that you had no need to be consistent at all and yet never ceased to be in the right.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Back East
Posts: 704
Originally Posted by EveningRose 
I didn't read the whole thing, and probably won't, but this stood out to me:
This is my AF. His opinion is always correct. He knows everything. He can do everything. He's never, ever wrong.
This is my AF. His opinion is always correct. He knows everything. He can do everything. He's never, ever wrong.
T
Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Back East
Posts: 704
Originally Posted by AcceptingChange
Dearest Father,
You asked me recently why I claim to be afraid of you. I did not know, as usual, how to answer, partly for the very reason that I am afraid of you, partly because an explanation of my fear would require more details than could even begin to make coherent in speech. And if I now try to answer in writing it will still be nowhere near complete, because even in writing my fear and its consequences raise a barrier between us and because the magnitude of material far exceeds my memory and my understanding.
To you the matter always seemed very simple, at least in as far as you spoke about it in front of me and, indiscriminately, in front of many others.
To you it seemed like this: you had worked hard your whole life, sacrificed everything for your children, particularly me, as a result I lived “like a lord”, had complete freedom to study whatever I wanted, knew where my next meal was coming from and therefore had no reason to worry about anything; for this you asked no gratitude, you know how children show their gratitude, but at least some kind of cooperation, a sign of sympathy; instead I would always hide away from you in my room, buried in books, with crazy friends and eccentric ideas; we never spoke openly...
This is a long letter, with the same motivations as your letter.
Here's the whole thing:
Letter to my Father by Franz Kafka
You asked me recently why I claim to be afraid of you. I did not know, as usual, how to answer, partly for the very reason that I am afraid of you, partly because an explanation of my fear would require more details than could even begin to make coherent in speech. And if I now try to answer in writing it will still be nowhere near complete, because even in writing my fear and its consequences raise a barrier between us and because the magnitude of material far exceeds my memory and my understanding.
To you the matter always seemed very simple, at least in as far as you spoke about it in front of me and, indiscriminately, in front of many others.
To you it seemed like this: you had worked hard your whole life, sacrificed everything for your children, particularly me, as a result I lived “like a lord”, had complete freedom to study whatever I wanted, knew where my next meal was coming from and therefore had no reason to worry about anything; for this you asked no gratitude, you know how children show their gratitude, but at least some kind of cooperation, a sign of sympathy; instead I would always hide away from you in my room, buried in books, with crazy friends and eccentric ideas; we never spoke openly...
This is a long letter, with the same motivations as your letter.
Here's the whole thing:
Letter to my Father by Franz Kafka
T
Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 688
Originally Posted by tromboneliness
Wow. I could have written that. Well, no -- I'm no Kafka... but that relationship was very much like the one I had with my father.
T
T
They demand answers and we're damned if we answer them and damned if don't. Just another no-win in a long series of no-wins.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
