It is natural tendency for someone to rebel against a great state of restriction. This is the reason for Sally, Restek's daughter, to call him old-fashioned and refuse to recognize his authority. Mrs. Patimkin's daughter, Brenda, rebels as well. Brenda seems to resent her mother and the ideals of her mother. Brenda's mother, judging by the letter that she sends Brenda, envisions her marrying a nice young man from a well-to-do upbringing. She has high standards in regards to morality and expects Brenda to follow them. Brenda has grown up in this household under her mother's critical eye and has, until Neil, held to her mother's standards.