 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
He (The taxi driver) then went on to say that in former days he had heard me lecture, but that belonged to his intellectual past. 'Now,' he continued, 'I am a married man and have ceased to be a person.' This seemed a painful result of matrimony and naturally set me reflecting. Why should marriage, which ought to be the fulfilment of personality, be felt as quite the opposite? There was no suggestion that his marriage was unhappy; it was to marriage as such that he attributed this dire result. I never myself experienced any such result of being married, but I know that the taxi driver was putting into words what a great many people feel.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Mortals and Others; Bertrand Russell's American Essays, 1931-1935, v.1
More info.: https://russell-j.com/MARRIAGE.HTM
* a brief comment:
There are many films that are considered masterpieces, but the reality is that most of them are only known by name. One of these masterpieces is Martin Scorsese's film (starring Robert De Niro) Taxi Driver (released in 1976 and winner of the Palme d'Or at the 29th Cannes International Film Festival). Wikipedia has a detailed description of the film, so I will omit a detailed content introduction, but the main character in the film, Travis (a taxi driver), is a former Marine returning from the Vietnam War who suffers from severe war-induced insomnia and commits a serious crime. He is therefore very different from the mild-mannered driver Russell quotes.
The reason why I mention this film is because the name ‘Bertrand Russell’ is mentioned. (The above quote is from Russell's American Essays, so Scorsese may have had this essay in mind.)
Regardless, only the relevant part is quoted below.
https://note.com/northflight/n/n2f57b2cb4420
To Wizard's words, ‘We're done anyway.’
Travis replies, ‘That's stupid.’
Still, don't get angry,
‘I ain't Bertrand Russell. What do you want from a taxi driver?’ ...