How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
But in the meantime his father might have offered to pick up his hotel tab. Why didn't he? What a selfish old man he was! He saw his son's hardships; he could so easily help him. How little it would mean to him, and how much to Wilhelm! Where was the old man's heart? Maybe, thought Wilhelm, I was sentimental in the past and exaggerated his kindliness—warm family life. It may never have been there. (2.2)
Wilhelm tends to blame his father's stinginess on his old age and fear of death, but what if those aren't the real reasons? Here, Wilhelm begins to suspect that he is only now seeing his father as he really is: cold as ice.
Quote #5
Wilhelm often astonished Dr. Adler. Beginning of the end? What could he mean—what was he fishing for? Whose end? The end of family life? The old man was puzzled but he would not give Wilhelm an opening to introduce his complaints. He had learned that it was better not to take up Wilhelm's strange challenges. (2.16)
This is one of the rare moments when the novel's narrator gives us insight into the mind of anyone other than Wilhelm. Now that we can see Dr. Adler's frustration with his son's "complaints," does Wilhelm's perspective on his father seem more credible, or less?
Quote #6
After any talk with Dr. Adler, Wilhelm generally felt dissatisfied, and his dissatisfaction reached its greatest intensity when they discussed family matters. Ostensibly he had been trying to help the old man remember a date, but in reality he meant to tell him, "You were set free when Ma died. You wanted to forget her. You'd like to get rid of Catherine, too. Me, too. You're not kidding anyone" [. . .]. (2.21)
The words left unspoken between Dr. Adler and his son weigh heavily on Wilhelm. Unfortunately for him, Dr. Adler is more than content to sit quietly and avoid talking about difficult things.