Meet people

[Coffee Break]

Hello everyone. I encountered this expression, "Meet people", but am struggling to understand it. Could you please let me know what it means in the following sentences:

In my pocket I also felt the folded oversized invitation card on which the address of the party was printed in spirited filigree. I vaguely recalled, while talking to Clara at the party, that I’d frequently encounter this card in my pocket and would absentmindedly twiddle its corners, experiencing a sudden burst of joy when I put two and two together, and, in the fog of distracted thoughts, remembered that if the card was still damp from the storm, this could only mean I’d just come in from the snow, that the party was still young, that we were hours away from parting, and that there’d be plenty of time for anything to happen. And yet, even if behind these bursts of joy lingered something like light resentment for being dragged to this party, only to be stood up by my father’s friend, still, it may not have been resentment at all but yet another cunning way of allowing my thoughts to stray from where they wished to linger, only to be pulled right back to Clara and to the uncanny suspicion that Pooh might even have orchestrated a bit of what had happened tonight. Father died. I promised to look out for him. Lonely. Doesn’t know what to do with himself. Meet people.

- André Aciman, Eight White Nights, First Night

This is a novel published in the United States of America in 2010. This novel is narrated by the nameless male protagonist. The protagonist meets Clara at a Christmas party in Manhattan. Here, the protagonist came out of the party and is on the street. In his pocket, he finds an invitation card for the party. (He was invited by his late father's friend named Pooh and promised to meet him at the party, but Pooh had stood him up.)

Here, I wonder what the underlined expression means.
The italicized part appears to be what the protagonist had thought right after the death of his father, but would that mean that his father does not know how to meet people...?
I wonder how it is connected to the previous sentence, or whether it is an imperative sentence directed to his father (or the protagonist himself...?) perhaps.

I would very much appreciate your help.

 

[probus]

It's far from clear, but I would speculate that "Meet people" is offered as one potential answer to the impilcit rhetorical question of what to do with himself.

 

[Tarheel]

@Coffee Break There seem to be a lot of words left out. Here's my interpretation. (See below.)

His father died. I promised to look out for him. He's lonely and doesn't know what to do with himself. He needs to meet new people.

 

[Coffee Break]

@probus and @Tarheel,

Thank you very much for the explanations.
So "meet people" is one answer suggested regarding the implicit question as to what to do with himself!
There was an unspoken question in the "Doesn't know what to do with himself", and he thinks he should meet people as a way to do something with himself, to spend some time.

His father died. I promised to look out for him. He's lonely and doesn't know what to do with himself. He needs to meet new people.

Indeed, there seems to be many words that are omitted. Thank you, your explanation really cleared my doubts!

But then this is just my small question, but I wonder who is speaking those sentences to whom.
My guesses are:

(1) From the protagonist (late father's son) to Pooh (late father's friend) about the late father: "My father died. I had promised to take care of him (but I didn't). My father was lonely, and he didn't know what to do with himself. He should have met new people." (But that changes the present tense into the past tense. )

(2) From Pooh (late father's friend) to the protagonist (late father's son) about the late father: "Your father died. I promised to take care of him (but I didn't). Your father was lonely, and he didn't know what to do with himself. He should have met new people."

(3) From the protagonist (late father's son) to someone else about Pooh (late father's friend): "My father died. I promised to take care of him (but I didn't). But as for Pooh, he is lonely and does not know what to do with himself, because his friend has now died. He should meet people."

(4) From Pooh (late father's friend) to someone else about the protagonist (late father's son): "The protagonist's father died. I promised to his father to take care of the protagonist after his death. The protagonist is lonely and does not know what to do with himself, because his father has now died. He should meet people."

I wonder which one makes sense.

 

[Tarheel]

@Coffee Break All of them seem to me to be well-phrased. What makes sense, of course, depends on context.

Did you say the protagonist doesn't have a name? (That's weird.)

 

[Coffee Break]

@Tarheel,

Thank you very much for the explanation.
So all of the four options are plausible! Then, what causes the least change to the verb tense (the fourth or the third options probably) seems most likely, I guess...
Probably it could be what Pooh says about the protagonist, because Pooh invited the protagonist to the party (probably, in order to let him meet people). Though how the protagonist came to learn what Pooh had said about him to other people remains a mystery.

Did you say the protagonist doesn't have a name? (That's weird.)

That is true, his name never appears. I agree, that is strange indeed...!

I sincerely appreciate your help, as always.

 

[Tarheel]

Well, I took another look at the first post. At one point it says "Father died." Then a little later it says he's lonely and doesn't know what do with himself. That couldn't possibly be about Father for the obvious reason that he's not alive.

(This one hadn't gotten any replies since Tuesday, and I'm seeing it myself for the first time since then.)

 

[Coffee Break]

@Tarheel,

Thank you very much for the explanation.
Then "meet people" could be about his late father! The speaker (whoever it might me) is saying that, the protagonist's father died, and he should have met people, probably. (Though "meet" in "meet people" becomes "met" in this guess. )
I truly appreciate your help.

 

[Tarheel]

It's rather confusing. (I would probably understand it better if I had been reading that book from the beginning.)

(You were, apparently, unfazed by my error (Fixed!), which shows, I think, that you are at a very advanced level.)