The Waves Power/Authority Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"At last," said Bernard, "the growl ceases. The sermon ends. He has minced the dance of the white butterflies at the door to powder. His rough and hairy voice is like an unshaven chin. Now he lurches back to his seat like a drunken sailor. It is an action that all the other masters will try to imitate; but, being flimsy, being floppy, wearing grey trousers, they will only succeed in making themselves ridiculous." (2b.13)

Bernard is no fan of Dr. Crane. Interestingly, he draws a connection between Crane and Percival by suggesting that other masters likely try (and fail) to mimic the headmaster, just as the other schoolboys try to master the unique way Percival flicks his hand. Interesting that Bernard would find such a similarity between his good friend and the headmaster he hates. Wonder what that means…

Quote #5

"Look now, how everybody follows Percival. He is heavy. He walks clumsily down the field, through the long grass, to where the great elm trees stand. His magnificence is that of some mediaeval commander. A wake of light seems to lie on the grass behind him. Look at us trooping after him, his faithful servants, to be shot like sheep, for he will certainly attempt some forlorn enterprise and die in battle. My heart turns rough; it abrades my side like a file with two edges: one, that I adore his magnificence; the other I despise his slovenly accents—I who am so much his superior—and am jealous." (2b.14)

Louis, too, notes Percival's command over others. But at the same time he proclaims Percival's "magnificence," he also notes his clumsiness and "slovenly accents." So, do you think that Percival is actually not all that authoritative, or is this just sour grapes from Louis?

Quote #6

"When Miss Lambert passes," said Rhoda, "talking to the clergyman, the others laugh and imitate her hunch behind her back; yet everything changes and becomes luminous. Jinny leaps higher too when Miss Lambert passes. Suppose she saw that daisy, it would change. Wherever she goes, things are changed under her eyes; and yet when she has gone is not the thing the same again?" (2b.26)

Like Louis, Rhoda adores an authority figure at school: Miss Lambert. In an echo of Bernard's comments about Dr. Crane and Louis's comments about Percival, Rhoda notes that others imitate Miss Lambert (although for unkind reasons in this case).