The woman was in shock. When you are in that kind of deep shock you just go through the motions. I went to the polls and voted for Reagan before going to my 18 year old son’s funeral. Did it mean that I cared more for Reagan or for politics than I did my son? No, I was just in shock and it was election day.
INDEED.
AND, often enough, going thru the motions can help one manage and eventually deal overcomingly with the traumas.