The point is that the screws don't screw into the door, they screw into the other half of the knob assembly. You can see one of the sockets in the picture you show -- it's the tube sticking out in the hole.
Normally, a complete circle is hole-sawn out of the door. What you have there is amazingly slapdash.
jlschuncke t1_j56vl7u wrote
Reply to comment by yanyan1989 in Advice reattaching an internal door handle by yanyan1989
The point is that the screws don't screw into the door, they screw into the other half of the knob assembly. You can see one of the sockets in the picture you show -- it's the tube sticking out in the hole.
Normally, a complete circle is hole-sawn out of the door. What you have there is amazingly slapdash.
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/home-safety/21016489/how-to-install-a-lockset