Abandonment in "The Bluest Eye"

page 15
"Did you hear what he told folks when he left her?"
"Uh-uh. What?"
"Well, he run off with that trifling Peggy--from Elyria . . . Somebody asked him why he left a nice good church woman like Della for that heifer. You know Della always did keep a good house. And he said the honest-to-God real reason was he couldn't take no more of that violet water Della Jones used. Said he wanted a woman to smell like a woman. Said Della was just too clean for him."
"Old dog! Ain't that nasty!"
"You telling me. What kind of reasoning is that?"
"No kind. Some men just dogs."

Questions:
1) This is near the very beginning of the story. How is this significant?

Comments:
I think I'll answer my own question here. After reading all of Morrison's novels I see the issue of abandonment (particularily men leaving their women) come up in every single book. This being Morrison's first book I think the early statement "Some men just dogs" prepares the reader for future evidence that backs this up.

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