[A woman near her grandson's cot, thinking over how she has nearly deprived him of his life, because she had urged her daughter to make abortion]

quote:
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I hoisted him up and held his squirmy bulk to my chest, it seemed to me that time split clearly down the middle and I realized what I'd so nearly done.
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What does this phrase about time mean here? Right further in the text she is telling an episode from her childhood, which she associates with what she had almost done now, being a grown up. Maybe this "time splitting" refers to as if a hole, which has opened in Time, so that she glances all of a sudden at a similar situation in her childhood?

This is a difficult one to interpret, and you may be right, since this passage, I think, needs a full understanding of not only the entire situation, but also the author's style, the mood created in the complete work. Certainly, a new child in one's life will cause old memories to re-surface. Another possibility is that her life is now neatly divided into two parts - before and after her grandson's birth. This can happen fairly often with people who were somewhat immature when their own children were born. By the time the grandchild appears, they have matured enough to fully understand and appreciate the wonder that is a child. It can also happen to older first-time parents.

Thank you!