Pity and Faithfulness
Tom treats the quarrel with Philip as another boyhood fight to be forgotten by acting as if nothing happened. Philip cannot. The insult landed on the place he cannot armor. Maggie arrives and sees the wound Tom did not inventory. She defends Philip because her tenderness goes, by instinct, toward anyone the room has already decided is too much or too little. Accurate perception is her gift. It is also how she will later bind herself to people her brother has already priced as enemies.
Key Insight
Emotional intelligence begins as noticing what the practical person refuses to count. Maggie sees Philip's susceptibility. Tom sees a quarrel that should have blown over. The split is the rest of the novel in miniature.
“Tom saw no reason why they should not make up this quarrel as they had done many others, by behaving as if nothing had happened.”Explore full theme analysis
