Unmarried women in the hospital often don't get along with their families, so they end up giving birth to illegitimate children. The doctor thinks that it's selfish for women to think that they can use their children to "tie down" their husbands, or to "fill their pathetic delusions" . He thinks that an "incomplete family" could raise a good child, but he doesn't think it would be a good idea for a married couple to try to do that. He says that if he were to get married, he would be treated poorly after getting married, and that he would have no choice but to abort the child. He tells his son that he'll take him for a walk after breakfast, and then he can call on clara. He wants to know what her brother thinks about the whole thing, so he tells her that if she thinks he did something wrong, she can reprimand him, but if he thinks she did something right, he thinks he's got a point. He goes on to say that after listening to her brother's comments, he'd like her to call him later, so that he can settle things with his brother.