Everything is Illuminated #2

One can always count on one's mother to be the first to read his/her blog. My mother dove in and here's a little excerpt of what she felt matters with regards to the suicide-committing grandfather in Everything Is Illuminated. It can be seen in her posted comment, or below:

"So what matters? Courage matters. Learning to be who you are matters. Loving someone matters. Family matters. Memories matter. Creating matters.
The grandfather cannot change what didn't matter to him then. He can only change what matters to him now. He has many choices. He chooses to stop memory. To stop remembering. To stop living. Is he at peace with his decision? His grandson suggests, yes. It matters to him that his grandfather made that choice. New things matter to him now. His Judaism matters to him now. His friendship with Jonathon matters to him now. His life with his family matters." -Gaylord Littenberg

I preferred a little more of a thesis, moms. What really mattered to the grandfather? Listing words like "loving, family, creating, memories, etc." will not get us far. We need to ignite a debate. We need specifics.
One cliffs-notes-esque page claims, "It is Grandfather for whom everything is really illuminated at the end of the novel. He has come to terms with his past and present, and epiphanically feels forgiven for them both. He feels that he has everything for which Jonathan's relatives strove: love, happiness, peace. Even if there remains a place for fantasy in this vision, Grandfather's model of having one's life illuminated means being able to look to the past and present with satisfaction in whatever love one has had, and then to generate that shining love into the future."

Your thoughts????????