“The coldness of men is intentional”
The Man Who Laughs“The coldness of men is intentional” is the passage’s judgment on the indifference confronting the abandoned child in London. In January 1790, fear of plague helps explain why no inhabitant opens a window to him and the infant he carries; the town’s refusal of shelter turns ordinary caution into a collective failure of hospitality.
Meaning in Context
The narrator sets this human coldness against the physical cold of the night. The child had understood the exposed plains, but the populated town overwhelms him: although he has entered the midst of life, he remains alone. The phrase insists that this isolation is not simply a feature of nature or circumstance. People’s fear leads them to withhold welcome from vulnerable strangers, making their indifference feel deliberate in its effect.
The Hour and the Infant
After the bell of St. Nicholas strikes three, silence returns. The child experiences the hour as another declaration that his suffering does not matter; in that desolate moment, he may consider lying down to die. The infant’s small gesture interrupts this despair: she leans her head against his shoulder and falls asleep again. The contrast makes the passage’s bleak social judgment concrete while showing the child’s continuing care for the dependent life beside him.
