Roku and Oseki both come from low-income homes, but she marries a rich man and has an affluent life. The incomplete Roku, though, has the potential to succeed. She is obviously not satisfied with her current relationship with Isamu, but it also doesn’t appear that she believes she will be content with her existing Roku. Regardless of her affections for either of them, Isamu is her superior option according to Marxist philosophy. When they converse, the reader is reminded of what her father had earlier remarked about her difficult marriage. He assured her that if she wasn’t content now, she wouldn’t be content if she returned to being their daughter either, but she would be in an upper-class setting getting married and leading a nicer life.