But that is not at all what the letter says, isn’t it? It says he thinks everything will be all right, but he is writing the letter just in case something goes wrong.
> if she really was not at all informed
She surelly must have known that she married an air force pilot. She might not have known the exact details of this particular mission, but she also must have known that he was working on special stuff when they moved from Murmansk to Moscow when Gagarin was selected to the space program.
It is not like one day he went out for milk, but ended up in space.
> from a modern perspective, it is a bit harsh to demand from one's wife
“Take care of the kids” is one of the fundamentals of marriage. That is what marriage is for. Heck this is basic human decency. If you made a kid you are responsible to bring that kid to adulthood as safe and as sound as you can. Especially and even more so if the other person you made the kid with dies.
She is not responsible for taking care of his parents, not to the same degree she is for her kids. And you might notice he is putting on a very different level of emphasis on that one. He literally says “if you have an opportunity, help them somehow”
All in all I don’t find the requests harsh at all. Sad of course, but not harsh.
But that is not at all what the letter says, isn’t it? It says he thinks everything will be all right, but he is writing the letter just in case something goes wrong.
> if she really was not at all informed
She surelly must have known that she married an air force pilot. She might not have known the exact details of this particular mission, but she also must have known that he was working on special stuff when they moved from Murmansk to Moscow when Gagarin was selected to the space program.
It is not like one day he went out for milk, but ended up in space.
> from a modern perspective, it is a bit harsh to demand from one's wife
“Take care of the kids” is one of the fundamentals of marriage. That is what marriage is for. Heck this is basic human decency. If you made a kid you are responsible to bring that kid to adulthood as safe and as sound as you can. Especially and even more so if the other person you made the kid with dies.
She is not responsible for taking care of his parents, not to the same degree she is for her kids. And you might notice he is putting on a very different level of emphasis on that one. He literally says “if you have an opportunity, help them somehow”
All in all I don’t find the requests harsh at all. Sad of course, but not harsh.