Abner employs a crude psychological strategy to ensure his family's compliance with his warped lifestyle by stressing the importance of family loyalty. This is highlighted in Sarty's internal monologue during the initial court scene about enemies, "mine and hisn both." However, this reflects a skewed perception of loyalty, as there is no moral duty to be unconditionally loyal to anyone, not even parents. Abner's criminal behavior frees Sarty from the moral obligation of loyalty, a truth that Sarty ultimately grasps. While Sarty technically betrays his father to Major de Spain, in a broader ethical sense, Sarty exhibits genuine loyalty to moral principles, where revenge is an irregularity and aggressive violence is a wrongdoing.