Though Hans initially resented Peeperkorn for Peeperkorn’s relationship with Clavdia, this passage indicates that Hans is already beginning to come around to the man, as his joy at Peeperkorn’s suggestion that he might one day address Hans using informal pronouns suggests. Peeperkorn’s garbled remarks about life defeating feeling and Doomsday underscore the decadence that underlies his character. He pursues passion and pleasure to the point of self-destruction with no regard for life or longevity. When Hans muses that “Doomsday” encapsulates Peeperkorn’s character, he acknowledges Peeperkorn’s self-destructive nature—but, notably, he does not condemn it.