Marlena may not have stood up for herself in the past, but that all changes here. August has taken it a step too far by laying hands on her, and she has enough courage to defend herself and clarify what is and what's not okay. It's most definitely not okay for August to hit her. It's hard to see anything good in a situation of domestic violence, but the positive takeaway is that both Marlena and Jacob see that it's wrong and will work to prevent it from ever happening again.

Sometimes Jacob admits that he can't or shouldn't intervene. Several times in the book he has to force himself to stay away and not help Rosie, Marlena, or whoever else is in trouble. Here, though, he can't stand it anymore. Even though Grady, Bill, and a bunch of other people are there to hold him back, Jacob struggles against them enough to almost make it in and help Marlena. Instead of stopping himself through force of will, he's forced to obey the others, who ultimately outnumber him.

As an old man, Jacob still understands the importance of dressing up and looking nice for important events. He tells Rosemary that he wants his fancy clothes so he can look like the man he knows himself to be. Rosemary "hoots" and "laugh[s]," as though it's slightly ridiculous that Jacob would want to dress up, but he persists.