My initial reaction to "The Dead"

My initial reaction to the dead was one of commiseration for the plight of dear Gabriel. His entire experience is one that I feel I have lived countless times. Thinking that one is over-educated in a group of people, making jokes that no one understands, failing miserably with a girl because she is probably way below my reading level. All of these sentiments make sense to me, also in my cynical, love-hater way I know the feeling of unrequited lust, as I'm sure any guy would second. In a very sexist way I couldn't help but think after reading the story that women are so damn complicated, and that Gabriel should not feel so forlorn over this man because only a woman would carry that memory around for so long. At this point I'd like to remind everyone that this is an initial reaction and did not consist of deep thoughts, obviously.
The great thing about my initial reaction is that I know it to be based on the basest part of my character. This is where my metaphor about knowledge being the champion against ignorance first came to being. I scorned myself for being such a capricious asshole and to read the story once again and really enjoy the prose and the deeper meanings behind the interactions of the characters. Highly enjoyable and much more satisfying.