How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Part.Paragraph)
Quote #7
He knew that now he would have to take a beating. It would last an hour or two hours, and it would be difficult, but if he modulated his inevitable resentment to the chastened attitude of the reformed sinner, he might win his point in the end. (3.11)
This is an interesting passage, because it almost sounds as though Charlie is play-acting. Is he pretending to be a reformed sinner so that he can get Honoria back? And if so, what is his real attitude with regard to his own reformation? It is lines like this one that complicate our understanding of Charlie's character and our reading of "Babylon Revisited."
Quote #8
He woke up feeling happy. The door of the world was open again. He made plans, vistas, futures for Honoria and himself, but suddenly he grew sad, remembering all the plans he and Helen had made. She had not planned to die. The present was the thing – work to do and someone to love. But not to love too much, for he knew the injury that a father can do to a daughter or a mother to a son by attaching them too closely: afterward, out in the world, the child would seek in the marriage partner the same blind tenderness and, failing probably to find it, turn against love and life. (4.1)
This passage suggests that Charlie does have a good understanding of what it means to be a parent, and would indeed be a good father to Honoria.
Quote #9
He would come back some day; they couldn't make him pay forever. But he wanted his child, and nothing was much good now, beside that fact. He wasn't young any more, with a lot of nice thoughts and dreams to have by himself. He was absolutely sure Helen wouldn't have wanted him to be so alone. (5.17)
This story would be a lot easier for us to read if Fitzgerald explicitly told us what to think of Charlie. If we knew for sure that he didn't deserve Honoria, and that he was getting his just desserts for his former behavior, the tale would be pretty straightforward. Conversely, if we were firmly on Charlie's side – if we truly believed he had reformed and knew for sure that he deserved his daughter – we would have similar closure. But Fitzgerald doesn't allow us either one of these.