Retreating to corners - This can mean many things. It comes from the sport of boxing, where in between fighting the boxers take a break to think about the fight and what they need to do. In this case, it seems like the people involved needed to step away from their situation to think about it more. For example, when I draw a picture or write an essay, I like to take a day to think about it and when I come back I see it "with new eyes" or "in a different light." It is like all of the mistakes I have made are more obvious. Everything is more clear when you think about it.