How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
He had been gradually dying, with Connie, in the isolated private life of the artist and the conscious being. Now let all that go. Let it sleep. (9.68)
Again, what's going on with isolation? Clifford was isolated, and that was bad; but now he's connected to the rest of the world through Mrs. Bolton—and that seems to be worse, as though it lowers him in Connie's eyes.
Quote #8
And he would sit alone for hours listening to the loudspeaker bellowing forth. It amazed and stunned Connie. But there he would sit, with a blank entranced expression on his face, like a person losing his mind, and listen, or seem to listen, to the unspeakable thing. (10.2)
Is he really connected when he listens to radio transmissions from Munich, or is he just more apart? Lawrence seems to think that technology and machinery can't bring people together, but there's no denying that it's useful and it brings Clifford out of his self-imposed hibernation.
Quote #9
There was nothing between them. She never even touched him nowadays, and he never touched her. He never even took her hand and held it kindly. No, and because they were so utterly out of touch, he tortured her with his declaration of idolatry. (10.23)
At this point, Connie and Clifford are headed straight for divorce—they just don't know it yet. We'd make a joke about a Kardashian marriage, but honestly this is just too depressing.