Camera lucida

Abstract

Every inch, she is the stern mother who rebukes her son for misbehaving (“They call you to go stealing and you just go?”) instead of dedicating himself to his work (“You could be washing cars or selling sweets on the train”). She tells her daughters off (“You are too young to be a mother. But you just have kids anyway! Well, take care of them, then!”) and does not accept the argument that they robbed out of necessity (“There is no excuse. You don’t have a job? Get one!”). She gets angry because she is afraid of losing her son (“Do you want them to kill you? When the shooting starts, you’re the one who’ll get the bullet”). She reminds her son of the sacrifices that have been made for him (“Your father had a hard time bringing you up and not for you to be a thief”). She loses her patience with the son who committed a stupidity (“A guy you don’t even know comes up to you and asks you to get hold of a gun and you do?”).

Translated by Sander Berg