Characters
After fifteen minutes, I wanted to marry her, and after forty-five minutes, I completely gave up the idea of stealing her purse.
— Virgil · Take the Money and Run
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
Wanting to marry someone arrives before abandoning the idea of stealing her purse. The timings make affection and criminal intention coexist, with the second impulse taking longer to disappear. The joke unsettles the expected romantic progression by making a decision against theft its later milestone.
Context reviewed