How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
Who would have guessed, when his child was born, that in time he would come crawling to her asking to be taken in? (20.34)
This quote illuminates several things: we see that Lucy can stand just fine on her own two feet without David, and that this altered dynamic isn't something that David was prepared for. At the same time, it makes us reflect back on David's concerns about age in a new way: older age changes one's relationship with one's children, and it's not an easy shift to grow used to.
Quote #11
Then one day there emerges from the dark another voice, one he has not heard before, has not counted on hearing. From the words he knows it belongs to Byron's daughter Allegra; but from where inside him does it come? Why have you left me? Come and fetch me! calls Allegra. So hot so hot, so hot! she complains in a rhythm of her own that cuts insistently across the voices of the lovers. (20.73)
Just as Coetzee makes Byron is a metaphor for David, so does Allegra stand in for Lucy. Here we get a sample of David's feelings of guilt over having left Lucy alone during her rape. For a more detailed explanation, check out the "Symbolism" section.
Quote #12
"Because I couldn't face one of your eruptions, David, I can't run my life according to whether or not you like what I do. Not any more. You behave as if everything I do is part of the story of your life. You are the main character, I am a minor character who doesn't make an appearance until halfway through. Well, contrary to what you think, people are not divided into major and minor." (22.29)
Here, we get Lucy candidly venting some of her frustrations with David to his face. Here's a girl who has lived in her dad's shadow for a long time and who is ready to make her own life without him.