This statement is true. He was a single child and was sickly most of his childhood and he learned to read only when he was eight, which was odd considering that he was already writing stories at the time, that is, he didn't write them himself but rather dictated stories to his Mother or his Nurse who would write it down for him before he learned to do it himself.
He was trying to make calypso feel special but also tell her that his wife needs him to be happy in this life and that she could never die so he wouldn't want to really be with her because he is in love with Penelope! Hope this helps:)<span />
