Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jasonlulu_2000]

His life with his wife was full of great happiness. , as he wrote in his diary : "My own happiness in the past often approached such an ecstasy that I could not share it even with the person dearest to me but I had to walk it away in quiet streets and lanes with only fragments of it to distil into little lines in books -- and I think that my happiness, or talent for self-delusion or what you will, was an exception. It was not the natural thing but the unnatural -- unnatural as the Boom"

The beginning of this paragraph seems to tell us his life brightens up with his wife. But from the underlined sentence, it seems that the author like to find a quiet place to put down his happiness instead of sharing it with his wife.

I think the underlined sentence doesn't agree with the beginning sentence.
Is there anything wrong with my understanding?

Thanks

[Lorikeet]

It might help to see the other part as well. He did mention "in the past" so it could mean that he had changed, but without seeing the rest of it, I wouldn't know.