The question that arises is this: had father hated the people on the ship, just as she now hates the motorcyclist and the man who mocked her because she covered her ears? No, Agnes cannot imagine that Father was capable of hatred. Hate traps us by binding us too tightly to our adversary. This is the obscenity of war: the intimacy of mutually shed blood, the lascivious proximity of two soldiers who, eye to eye, bayonet each other. Agnes was sure: it was precisely this kind of intimacy that her father found repugnant. The melee on the ship filled him with such disgust that he preferred to drown.
The passage delves into the nature of hatred and its implications on human relationships, particularly in the context of war. Agnes reflects on whether her father could harbor hatred for the passengers on the ship. Despite her own feelings of animosity towards certain individuals, she cannot envision her father being capable of such emotions, as they bind people too closely to their enemies. This thought leads her to a deeper understanding of her father's character.
Agnes believes that the brutality and raw intimacy witnessed in war disgust her father, who would rather succumb to drowning than confront such close violence. His views stand in stark contrast to the relationships formed in conflict, highlighting the twisted connection created between adversaries. This repulsion towards hatred underlines the tragedy of human suffering in war and the complex emotions it evokes in individuals.
