If Mrs Gould is awakened to the "cruel futility of things," as Dr Monygham has long been and Charles Gould has now been, then her altruistic response is to shield others from that knowledge.

Again there are multiple levels to the line, though. Throughout the scene Mrs Gould has been using Antonia as a psychological way of referring to herself, so this also amounts to her saying, "I don't want to know!" And again, though Mrs Gould means that Antonia (the lover) would be hurt by the news of Decoud's death, there is also a reading in which Antonia (the idealist) would be hurt by news of the death of the reformist dream, and the revelation of underlying futility which is the theme of this chapter.