Being illegitimate is a technicality. It does not mean that there is anything wrong with you. Men use "bastard" as a curse. But to use the term thus is to show that they themselves are less than a proper human being.

“I am not a doctor,' I replied, 'I only help those who come to me in desperation…”

“She looked... She looked young, and- and--" I glanced down at Rossana gazing up…”

“The Maestro spoke again. "When we are not, at what point do we become?" I could…”

“He could quite quickly become detached from the nuances of common human emotion…”