Victorian 221b

I wonder if there's a third option. I think, often, of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Children's Hour": https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44628/the-childrens-hour-56d223ca55069

HWL is American, but some of the same practices were in place. The poem has always seemed to imply that he spends ONLY that time with his children -- a short piece each evening -- but it's also full of such affection and care that it doesn't also imply a distant relationship.