Mrs. Higgins embodies the unwavering dedication of a mother to her son. Her commitment runs so deep that she can put aside her own worries, frustrations, and traumas to support him.

When Mrs. Higgins returns from the drugstore with Alfred, her tense demeanor in the kitchen reveals the intense stress she's under. She seems on the brink of a breakdown, which makes her heroic effort to maintain composure in front of Mr. Carr all the more admirable. It must have taken tremendous willpower to achieve this. Late at night, she received a call from the drugstore and rushed out of the house without dressing properly, solely concerned for her son's well-being. No matter what needed to be done, she was determined to find a way. She manages Mr. Carr, who is understandably upset, with a gentle touch and a keen understanding of what would be effective. She doesn't hesitate to use subtle feminine charm to persuade him to be lenient with her son. She neither makes demands nor confronts Mr. Carr, but simply suggests that sometimes good advice, rather than punishment, is what a boy needs. Her composed dignity dominates the atmosphere in the drugstore, ultimately causing Mr. Carr to relent.

Alfred observes his mother's actions but doesn't fully understand the motivation behind them. He knows that if they were at home and someone mentioned arresting him, his mother would become furious. However, Mrs. Higgins has a mother's intuition about the qualities she needs to display at this moment. Her love for her son, a maternal love for which no sacrifice is too great and no task too daunting, gives her the words she needs.

The stark change in Mrs. Higgins's demeanor when they return home highlights the extraordinary effort it took to ease her son's difficult situation, despite his repeated disappointments. Her actions demonstrate the triumph of love, even in the most challenging circumstances.

At the beginning of the story, Alfred is a rather unimpressive young man with few redeeming qualities. He lacks empathy and sees nothing wrong with stealing from his employer. His thefts are merely to maintain appearances with his friends, painting him as both shallow and inept. However, by the story's conclusion, Alfred experiences significant personal growth. This transformation starts when he goes to the kitchen with the intention of thanking his mother for her dignity and strength in dealing with Mr. Carr. Alfred soon realizes that his view of his mother was inaccurate. The calm strength she showed was solely for his benefit; inside, she was a different person. This revelation deeply affects Alfred. He suddenly understands the struggles his mother has faced throughout her life and recognizes her silent hardships. He also grasps what she might have been thinking as they walked home together. In this moment of empathy and insight, Alfred transcends his own selfish concerns and steps into another person's world. He learns to feel another's pain and, in doing so, catches a glimpse of a more mature way of living. In that moment, Alfred Higgins begins to grow up.

In this story, Morley Callaghan focuses on a rather commonplace and distressing experience during which a young man’s character begins to take a definite moral form. The boy’s petty thievery, false bravado, and emotional dependency are highlighted early in the story. There is little to suggest the possibility of genuine moral growth except for the boy’s capacity for honest self-evaluation when he is first confronted by his employer, and his ready admission of guilt to his mother.

Alfred does mature, however, and it is important to recognize that his moral development owes...