"}Joachim feels horror at the multiple infanticide, but he will not \ndenounce it because of the intimate connections that link his and \nBenjamin\u2019s families, who are neighbours. The killing of babies was \ncertainly a criminal offence but at a time before contraception was \navailable it was perhaps not that uncommon.
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According to Boudon, the Abb\u00e9 Lagier may not have been acting totally \nbeyond his brief in asking women in the confessional about their sex \nlives. \u00a0In fact many priests at the time did this, on the \nreligiously-sanctioned grounds that couples had to be discouraged from \nengaging in practices that would not result in the birth of a child.
\u2026
In his hidden diary of wood, he addresses directly the unknown reader \nwho he hopes will one day come across his traces: \u201cHappy Mortal. When \nyou read this, I shall be no more.\u201d And elsewhere: \u201cMy story is short \nand sincere and frank, because none but you shall see my writing.\u201d