This is a sly way of noting that Mrs Gould's disillusionment is ignored by the
narrator in this chapter. We receive long expositions on Charles Gould's and Dr
Monygham's ideals, and how they fared come the revelation of underlying futility.
But we receive no similar exposition on how Mrs Gould's ideal of altruism is faring,
though there are hints that she is suffering the same revelation. Almost in the
background, she has been seen to tremble throughout her body, burst into tears
twice, and even flee the room. She has perhaps realized that an ideal is a form
of insanity, and (in a psychologically deflected metaphor) felt her earthly love
consumed in a funeral pyre. Later she will express thoughts as skeptical in their
acceptance of futility as any in the book (see ),
and it is possible that this moment marks her rude awakening.