A Modest Proposal and Other Satires

What is ironic about Swifts comment about his own family? What is it's purpose?

"I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that i have not the least personal interest in endeavouring to promote ths necessary work, having no other motive than the publick good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, relieving the poor, and govong some pleasure to the rich. I have no children, by which i can purpose to get a single penny; the youngest being nine years old, and my wife past child-bearing."

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Swift uses his own family to support his thoughts in A Modest Proposal. When he speaks to "selling" infants, he notes that this would be of no benefit to him financially because his own daughter doesn't fit into the desireable age group.

When Swiftreassures the reader that he has nothing to gain economically from his proposal, for he has no children, Swift is playing on the common protestation of writers that their political and social proposals are made altruistically for the good of society and should therefore be believed to be all the more sincere. If the writer did have children and lived in Ireland, it would be consistent to eat them or sell them.

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