Due to his conscience going against his actions, he compromises by granting him the chance to guess his name, which would allow him to keep the child. Regardless of his mixed feelings about raising a child, he kept his word because he had already made it clear what he wanted, so "[he] might as well continue" (Cunningham, 70 years old) and he desperately needed "another sign, a talisman, additional proof" (70) which would little by little seal the space between him and his true