Two plain wooden nesting figures, a larger peach-toned figure beside a smaller mahogany figure, on a peach background.

Original artwork, not a still

Jane Smiley

Your sons weren't made to like you. That's what grandchildren are for.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker jokes that sons were not made to like their parents. Grandchildren are then assigned that role instead, as though family affection came with different jobs. The contrast turns a possible disappointment into a comic expectation about the next generation.

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