In Theodor Fontane's Effi Briest, which I'm reading online, an exchange between Effi and her mother in Chapter IV seems to betray Effi's lack of love for her fiance Innstetten. Later, in Chapter V, after the wedding is over, Effi's parents are discussing the same incident that we saw in Chapter IV:
"Unless I am mistaken, it was just three weeks ago, and we were sitting in the garden, busied with all sorts of things belonging to her trousseau, when Wilke brought a letter from Innstetten. She put it in her pocket and a quarter of an hour later had wholly forgotten about it, till I reminded her that she had a letter. Then she read it, but the expression of her face hardly changed. I confess to you that an axious feeling came over me, so intense that I felt a strong desire to have all the light on the matter that it is possible to have under the circumstances."
"Very true, very true."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, I mean only- But that is wholly immaterial. Go on with your story; I am all ears."
Clearly Effi's father was about to say something, or is implying something with his "very true". From the way this is written, it seems that the reader is expected to understand the unspoken undercurrent in this exchange, but I can't figure it out.
What did he mean by his "very true"? Does it signify something about their relationship? Or am I reading far too much into this passage?
