I think it could happen because the girl (don't remember their names sorry) snuck onto the ship where she wasn't supposed to go. Obviously if you do something wrong, no necessarily sneaking onto a spaceship, there are always consequences. The man did try to save her life, but there wasn't much he could do because it was too late for both of them to survive.
Throughout the story "The First Seven Years" Feld wants Miriam to marry a wealthy man from a higher social class. He believes that doing that Miriam will be happier. However, Feld's epiphany challenges his values when he realizes that his daughter is too young to get married, she is only nineteen years old.
