Why is Patrick an Only Child?

[geebengrrl]

Pam and Geoff Marlow are remarkably fecund; but Helena and Anthony Merrick only have one child. Anthony Merrick seems to be a fairly strict Catholic, so why is it that Patrick is their only child

Comments

[ankaret]

I think it's probably because Patrick only became a Catholic retrospectively when AF needed one to comment on the play in End Of Term - after all, in Falconer's Lure he had a cousin who was a vicar!

[clanwilliam]

However, considering the Merricks' social class, lots of siblings for Patrick would be more likely, Catholic or not.

[ankaret]

Heir and a spare, you mean? Hmm, true. Maybe one or other parent had fertility problems and it was a glorious unlikeliness that they ended up with Patrick at all?

If there was a sibling or siblings who died, you'd think Patrick would have mentioned it.

[clanwilliam]

To quote Jilly Cooper: "birth control is flagrantly middle class". I think fertility - or possibly just not much of a sex life - would cover it.

[clanwilliam]

Vatican Roulette wasn't allowed pre-Vatican II - I suspect either they were being very pragmatic indeed or they only managed the one.

[oursin]

Is this so? Because the FPA* were providing instruction on the safe period well before then, and I assume that this would have been of most interest to those who were not allowed to use more efficient methods (as well as no doubt a certain % who were just squicked out at 'putting things up inside themselves'). Only this morning dug out a 'safe period' calculator (1930s, German) to illustrate a talk I'm giving.

*Though I've no idea what the Catholic Marriage Advisory Centres of the same period were up to.

[clanwilliam]

Definitely. Pre Vatican II there were women in working class parishes in Dublin who were accused of murder in the confessional because they hadn't had a child for two years - contraception of any kind was an absolute no-no. Actually, I was wrong - it's *after* Vatican II, to be precise - it's 1968 and Humane Vitae that allowed "natural contraception". The Lambeth Conference in 1930 changed things for Anglicans and most other Prods followed suit over time

[sollersuk]

I shall soon, on my lj, tell the story of my mother's Uncle Jack, which is pertinent both to this and to the concept of marriage.

[purplerabbits]

My grandmother had only one child, in 1935 after which my grandad went round every priest he could find to get one to tell him contraception was OK to save the mothers life, so there were priests who would say it, even then.

As to VAtican Roulette, my mum planned three kids using the rythm method and got our dates of birth when she wanted too, so it's not always as chancy as all that :-)

[oursin]

Success depends a lot on the regularity and length of the individual cycle (as well as individual's mathematical skills!).

[jonquil]

I'm guessing some gynecological disaster or other; the Merricks don't strike me as the sort of people who would think one heir enough.

[cangetmad]

It's out of the question that the disaster could be on Mr Merrick's part?

[jonquil]

I suppose there could have been a Tragic Hunting Incident.

[colne_dsr]

Maybe (i) either a very late marriage by one or both, hence not much time for children - I don't know if we ever find out how old the Merricks are when Patrick is 16, but I wouldn't be surprised by mid-50's, and I definitely think older than 40ish.

Or (ii) one or other was not good at producing children - I know a couple who tried everything, natural and artificial, to have a child, and no luck; they were 23 years married and had given up all hope when along came a daughter. (On the other hand, I work with a lady who had twins by AI and was told by doctors she was physically incapable of having any more children; 18 months later, along came no. 3)

[aella_irene]

Personally, I'm torn between

I wonder whether Helena Merrick, being a rather pragmatic Catholic (see Patrick's remark about fish on fridays in Attic Term, for example), was secretly using some form of contraception. Or perhaps they were playing Vatican Roulette and were just lucky...

and fertility problems.

Or possibly a combination...