In The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell, the narrator reflects on a difficult and traumatic experience, stating that she had been raped by a relative. The mention of this painful incident reveals the dark and complex nature of the characters' lives and the hardships they face.
The narrator finds a strange irony or perhaps a sense of normalcy in the situation, commenting that one cannot help smiling at the commonplaceness of the thought. This suggests a mixture of resignation, societal desensitization, or an attempt to find humor or acceptance in the face of unsettling realities.