“Boys will be boys”

“Boys will be boys” is a familiar-sounding excuse that Eileen reaches for when Rebecca hints that Leonard Polk’s silence may have a troubling explanation. Rebecca’s account turns the phrase into evidence of how adults can use casual language to deflect questions about boys’ treatment and conceal what they do not wish to discuss.

Eileen’s Response

Rebecca speculates that Leonard’s silence might be intended to protect his mother, then suggests that in some families only a death can end the sickness and lies. Eileen answers with “Boys will be boys,” a reflexive line that registers her uncertainty about Rebecca’s meaning rather than a considered explanation. Rebecca laughs at the response.

The Warden’s Echo

Rebecca tells Eileen that the warden had used the same words earlier that afternoon when she asked why Leonard had spent so many days in the “cave,” as the boys called it. The repeated phrase links Eileen’s casual dismissal to an institutional evasion: instead of explaining Leonard’s confinement, the warden had offered a stock justification. Rebecca suspects the undisclosed reason was sexual in nature, but presents this as her inference, not as something the warden confirmed.

Meaning in the Exchange

Rebecca’s story exposes the phrase’s double function. It can make boys’ behavior sound ordinary, while also shutting down inquiry into what adults have done to them or why they are being punished. Eileen says she recognizes what Rebecca means because she had seen Leonard’s expression through a small window the previous day. Rebecca responds with a wink and squeezes Eileen’s thigh, turning their shared recognition into a moment of physical closeness. The phrase thus marks both the limits of Eileen’s initial understanding and the trust developing between the women as Rebecca draws her into an interpretation of Leonard’s silence.