What does it tell us literally about the characters and what they are experiencing?

Pgs. 52-59

"Risky, thought Paul D, very risky. For a used-to-be-slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children she had settled to love. The best thing, he knew, was to love just a little bit, so when they broke its back, or shoved it in a croaker sack, well, maybe you'd have enough love left over for the next one." (54)