In the story, Steven grapples with his feelings of compassion for a woman in distress. He wishes to offer her comfort but hesitates to approach her due to a past incident where he inadvertently insulted her by suggesting she was a prostitute. This embarrassment weighs heavily on him, making him doubt his ability to console her.
Furthermore, Steven's self-consciousness is compounded by his own hygiene, as he humorously acknowledges that...