I made one mistake. Who doesn't? But I despised men who accepted their fate. I shaped mine twenty times and had it broken twenty times in my hands. Of course it left me deformed and unserviceable, defective and dangerous to associate with.… But what in God's name has happened to charity? … Self-interest guides me like the next man but not invariably; not all the time. I use compassion more than you do; I have loyalties and I keep by them; I serve honesty in a crooked way, but as best I can; and I don't plague my debtors or even make them aware of their debt.… Why is it so impossible to trust me?
"I made one mistake. Who doesn't? But I despised men who accepted their fate. I shaped mine twenty times and had it broken twenty times in my hands."
The narrator reflects on their struggles with personal failures and the consequences of their actions, which left them damaged and difficult to trust. Despite being guided by self-interest, they emphasize using compassion, loyalty, and honesty in their own way, suggesting a complex moral character that resists simple judgments.
