Women are never at ease till they tell their faults out loud
On the basis of this quotation, women want to wash their guilt away, so they could live happy and easygoing life again and in this case there is nothing better that to tell all their faults out loud, so they could be forgiven. Miss Abbot was the one who used this “lifehack” – she told Philip the whole truth about Lilia’s marriage and that it was she, who persuaded her to do so, and that Gino turned to be a despot and he is the one to blame in her (Lilia’s) death. But, as it usually happens, it is too late to change anything, and the best decision was not to interfere in Lilia’s life and then everything would be ok (who ever would have thought it!).
He stood with one foot resting on the little body, suddenly musing, filled with the desire that his son should be like him, and should have sons like him, to people the earth. It is the strongest desire that can come to a man—if it comes to him at all--stronger even than love or the desire for personal immortality. All men vaunt it, and declare that it is theirs; but the hearts of most are set elsewhere. It is the exception who comprehends that physical and spiritual life may stream out of him for ever
Gino was proud of himself that he has a son; it was main (and the only one) achievement in his life because he didn’t have money or social position, just a little child not much longer than his boot. But in the future this child will be a big person, he will look alike with his father, and will also have sons, his grandsons, who will continue his clan, and this thought made him happy and high-minded. But, still, Gino was not a good father, and his love to the son was specific, it was some sort of Platonic feeling – he loved the idea that he is the father, and he has a son and he is proud of himself but he is not able to love someone else more than he loves himself.
If we could answer their (parents) love not with gratitude but with equal love, life would lose much of its pathos and much of its squalor, and we might be wonderfully happy
Children have to love parents as much as they love them; then, the world will change and everyone will be happy, utopia? Well, yes, but we may at least try. Nowadays people got used to the life when relationships between people are a sort of consumer: you give me the goods and I pay for it. Even love is a kind of spiritual good today, other people give us love and we give (or not) the equal (or not very equal) portion of love them back, but in case with parents, the things change a little bit: they give us love and we are excessively grateful them for it. But it is not an equal bargain, because we ought to love parents as much as they love us, and then no one will receive more than give and vice versa, equal love for everybody! In the story we can't see the example of such “equal love”, children and parents live their lives and here we can trace a consumer attitude to children, parental love here is a kind of weakness which comes fast and goes fast almost without a trace.
"No; you're wrong. He does. He is unhappy, like the rest of us. But he doesn't try to keep up appearances as we do. He knows that the things that have made him happy once will probably make him happy again"
Miss Abbot is speaking about Gino, when she found out that he is going to marry again and wants to have a child. Phillip is shocked with his (Gino’s) behavior, because the man has just lost his wife and son and how he wants to live happy life as anything had happened. But Gino doesn’t wear a mask like Philip and his family do, he doesn’t care what people will think or say about him, his attitude to life is more down to earth and he knows that the feeling of happiness is periodic, as well as troubles and sorrows. A great philosophy: melancholy is just a waste of time, because people want to be happy and it is natural to do everything that will bring you happiness.
Not till marriage does one realize the pleasures and the possibilities of life
One more philosophical position from “the son of an Italian dentist with a pretty face”, it didn’t cost him much time to understand the verity and bitter truth of the marriage. Only stupid one may want it, the clever one will never exchange ones freedom for nebulous possibility of happy life with the person he hardly knows. Gino wasn’t unhappy in his marriage, but he was stupid to marry in 21, and people in this age tend to change their mind and grow up mentally. Life until marriage is happy life full of possibilities and pleasures and freedom, but we can treasure something only after we have lost it.
