MAKING LOVE BY TOM INGLIS

Memoir: Making Love by Tom Inglis

Memoir: Making Love by Tom Inglis

Introduction

In his memoir Tom Inglis recounts the life that he led with his love Aileen who died of breast cancer at an early age. He describes the feelings that he had for his wife and how he had to comprehend the death of his wife and one of his children. The way he struggled to accept death of his lover and the days that he spent with his wife are all elaborated honestly in the book. Born and raised in Dublin, the two met each other when they were teenagers and got married later. But the book is beyond the love and life that he spent with his wife. There are many themes that can be found in the book. Tom Inglis being a sociologist and formally an Assistant Professor of Sociology provides much more in his memoir than simply and account of love and sex in his life. He attempts to explore the social change taking place in Ireland, the Irish Catholic Church and the operations of religion and identity.

Discussion

Background

Tom Inglis, a famous sociologist with a number of papers to his credit, wrote this memoir dedicating it to his wife Aileen, who he loved passionately. He recounts the early teenage days when they met each other at a dance and the manner in which love at first sight turned into a lifelong love. Aileen, an artist, he tells had a lot of similarities in terms of religion, social status and age. Both were White middle class Catholics. Four years after they first met each other, they got married and had three children in their lives. One of them died tragically when he was of nine months. That tragic event further brought them closer to each other.

The diagnosis of breast cancer in Aileen was a major event in the dream like life the two were living with a deep bond of love and friendship between the two. The death of Aileen was therefore, a great tragic and shocking event in the life of the Professor. It was really hard for him to accept her death and he recounts the way he tried to get over it. It is hard for him to do so since she was such a fundamental part of his life but he thinks that the psychoanalytical concept of good grieving requires from him to able to move on. He extends praise to her throughout the book and states how she made his life beautiful in her own unique ways and how these things make her even more unforgettable.

Theme of Religion and Identity

Besides the story that is being told of the love life of Professor Tom Inglis and his wife, the memoir can also be considered to be exploring aspects of religion and identity. Tom Inglis has written a considerable number of essays dealing with these aspects in Ireland. Religion defines the identity of the Irish ...