“Hey, there,” Hans cut her off short, “aunts don’t count. They’re liars.” The whole group was quite taken aback by this bold assertion, which nevertheless remained unrefuted. Hans continues. “Also, what we’re mainly talking about here is the parents, because they’re the ones who are more or less obligated to instruct us in these matters. For the others, it’s more an act of kindness. They can’t be required to do it. But see here, what do our parents do? They walk around with long, troubled faces, nothing suits them, they shout and scold, but at the same time they’re so apathetic they would hardly notice it if the world came to an end. They have these things they call ‘ideals.’ Maybe those are another kind of little children that can’t be left alone and that are also a drain on their strength—but then they shouldn’t have had us!