Jeez, Adam’s learning a lot from just skulking outside of a house. I guess houses weren't very well insulated back in the day.
Most of this chapter is actually framed more around the family which Adam continues to observe. Felix seems to have arranged for an.. adoption?... of a foreign woman named Safie into the family. I’m not sure for what purpose. But whatever the reason, Safie is brought into the house and Adam learns that in fact there are more languages than just… German I’m going to assume?
Adam also begins to remark upon the need for humans to learn from one another. How they are inextricably bound together. It’s actually rather touching and sad, as he realizes that he, by contrast, has no others like him. He’s an outsider and seems afraid of making contact with the people.
Finally, Adam seems to begin holding a different opinion of humankind after learning some of Western history. He’s at once astounded at how marvelous humans can be, and at how awful they’ve been. He holds humans in such high regard that he seems unable to reconcile the two. He begins to recognize his own difference from humans, particularly his size, greater agility, and ability to subsist on rougher diet and withstand the elements more easily. He realizes that he’s a monster by some definition.
He also begins to understand what an odd thing “knowing” or “awareness” is, and how it is a hard thing to shake off when someone knows something. Yay for education, although it’s something I’ve sometimes struggled with in educating students in the critical paradigm.
This chapter feels more like build-up in some ways. Adam’s clearly building to some inevitable confrontation with the family and is trying to set it up. That said, while this chapter is basically a continuation from last chapter, the last chapter was fine and so this one is too.
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