He has all the details narrated to him and his expression of amazement and his questions give the situation a dramatic character calculated to increase the horror of the crime. This is increased also by his inquiry about the occasion of the crime: "Did he do this to his own child or was it begotten by someone else?" "He did this to his own child." "What was the temptation to kill his wife?" "He wanted to marry someone else." After a period of puzzled reflection the old man says confidently: "Nothing of the sort ever happened before" (564–565).