The politically correct will blanch, but this is of course only the author’s way of rubbing a bigoted society’s nose in its sins, he explained.
The most insecure are always the most selfish. It was bad enough to do it, but to rub his wife’s nose in his mess was, in the end, unforgivable. He is the kind of man who loves women, who puts them on a pedestal, who is in awe of them.
They understood that it was important to praise Elizabeth and the baby, whatever their own turmoil. When a nurse brought the new baby back, my cousin took her child in her arms and rubbed her nose in the yellow down on top of its small head. Soon she was choosing a name and kissing its tiny fingers and toes.