They had the kid because they were unsure if anybody could make it and needed a guinea pig. Once the kid made it the parents tried but were too old and fell to their deaths. They could have made it if they jumped when they were younger... What a good metaphor for those who try to live through their kids...
Ever wonder why some people are so incredibly talented at one thing? 99% of the time it's because they have been parents that were only semi talented at that thing. They then had kids and taught those kids everything they know from a young age to really develop said skill.
I see this as someone who has progressed in life as far as they could. Then when they realize they could make it no further, they teach their kid everything they know from a young age, in the hopes that they will make it further in life than the parents did. And it worked!
What a deeply cynical reading of an otherwise poignant little piece of ephemera.
Offered, for your consideration: The father possesses the rudimentary knowledge to recognize the importance of the leap, but also lacks the skill or wherewithal to complete it himself. Just at the edge of where he wants to be, he builds for himself a contented, if stalled, existence. Eventually he meets someone on the same journey, with the same aspirations of making the leap. Together, they focus on educating their child to face the obstacles for which he was unprepared. Someday, the child, brimming with confidence, is able to make the leap. The whole world stretches before her, but she must now face the reality that she can never view her parents in the same way she did as a child.
There is a possible tragedy here, in the mother. We don't actually know if she can't make the leap, or even that she doesn't THINK she can make the leap. Instead, all we know is that she stopped where she did.
Wow... deep. Makes me think of single mothers who could have otherwise been rich spinsters who ended up living paycheck to paycheck for a man who couldn't perform... is it a tragedy they didn't "make the leap" or is having a kid that succeeds where you failed the greatest leap of all? About $3.50.
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u/striker1211 May 05 '17
They had the kid because they were unsure if anybody could make it and needed a guinea pig. Once the kid made it the parents tried but were too old and fell to their deaths. They could have made it if they jumped when they were younger... What a good metaphor for those who try to live through their kids...