The narrator experiences a surge of anger directed not only towards Lydia but also at society's misunderstanding of emotional control. The frustration arises from the perception that people mistakenly equate an inability to recognize others' feelings with an absence of one's own emotions. This reveals a deep-seated issue in how emotional intelligence is often misjudged.
The quote highlights a common misconception that can lead to miscommunication and misinterpretation of individuals' emotional experiences. The narrator wishes to challenge this flawed logic and advocate for a more nuanced understanding of emotional expression and perception, emphasizing that each person's emotional landscape is complex and shouldn't be oversimplified.