In modern Ireland, women are having fewer children than a few decades ago. This fact is illustrated in modern Irish literature. Children are rare in Reading Turgenev by William Trevor and in Wild Decembers by Edna O'Brien. Both stories follow the struggles of Irish adult relationships that are not complicated by the task of raising children during the period of the plot. Although children are rarely found anywhere, many characters behave as if they are children when they are supposed to be mature adults. Both novels depict adults as if they were childish. Trevor Turgenev's Reading does not feature any characters who are children, but the adults in the story behave more like children. Throughout the book, children appear from time to time, but they are only memories of the characters from their youth. Mary Louise Dallon is usually depicted as a young girl by her former teacher, Miss Mullover. Mary Louise's husband, Elmer Quarry, is also mentioned as a child through his own flashbacks and memories. The town school where Mary Louise, her siblings, and Elmer and his sisters were taught by Miss Mullover, has disappeared from town. The only child we are told about is the son of Letty, Mary Louise's sister, and readers never see him. Mary Louise is the greatest example of an adult acting more like a child. Mary Louise married Elmer and the couple never had children. The couple will never consummate the marriage and Mary Louise will forever keep her “innocence” as a child. When reading Turgenev, Elmer is constantly referred to as a man, while Mary Louise is always seen as just a girl. This choice of words gives the reader the feeling that Mary Louise is young, not old enough to be considered a woman...... middle of paper ...... has going for her. Breege, O'Brien's most mature character. in the story, even shows a childish side of herself. After Breege meets Bugler's girlfriend Rosemary, she breaks down. Breege is so upset that she crawls into a manger. It is symbolic that Breege enters the scene. The nursery is a scene of birth and Breege abandons walking to crawl, perhaps trying to return to the state of birth. She would like to be in this state because she could be carefree and not have to worry about Bugler's relationship. Anyone can guess the deep meaning of these novels. The only thing the reader is sure of is that in these 20th-century Irish novels, children are nowhere to be found. It's obvious that O'Brien and Trevor sacrificed the use of children in their novels to make their adult characters stand out even more..