Painterly two pigeons nestled together on a round park bench beside still water at dusk.

Original artwork, not a still

Isaac Davis

I think people should mate for life, like pigeons or Catholics.

— Manhattan

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker proposes lifelong partnership, then pairs pigeons and Catholics as examples. The unlikely combination makes the principle sound comic and offhand. The line depends on the speaker's comparison between animal behavior and religious expectations, rather than carefully establishing that the two are equivalent.

Context reviewed

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