In this context, its not. Imagine your best friend doesnt want to talk to you anymore even though nothing happened. You won't believe him, so you'll try to get an explanation. The explanation doesn't make sense to you, and then he cuts his fingers, which prevents him from doing the only thing he enjoys doing. Now, you understand he was 100% serious about it. Remember, this is early 20th century, you can't block someone on social media.