Quote 22
Abuse: he was waiting for the word. Spoken in a voice quivering with righteousness. What does she see, when she looks at him, that keeps her at such a pitch of anger? A shark among the helpless little fishies? Or does she have another vision: of a great thick-boned male bearing down on a girl-child, a huge hand stifling her cries? How absurd! Then he remembers: they were gathered here yesterday in this same room, and she was before them, Melanie, who barely comes to his shoulder. Unequal: how can he deny that? (6.70)
OK, so just to get things straight, here we get David thinking about a woman thinking about things from his male perspective. Got it? Good. This moment is revealing of gender-guided biases from both sexes. David thinks that it is ridiculous for a woman to play on any pre-conceived notions of what men do to women in a situation like this – that is, until he realizes that Melanie has spoken to them already. What is interesting about this scene is the way he envisions Farodia picturing him as a "shark" among "fishies" – a ruthless, powerful predator that goes after someone small, helpless, and weak.
Quote 23
"I thought I would indulge myself. But there is more to it than that. One wants to leave something behind. Or at least a man wants to leave something behind. It's easier for a woman."
"Why is it easier for a woman?"
"Easier, I mean, to produce something with a life of its own."
"Doesn't being a father count?"
"Being a father…I can't help feeling that, by comparison with being a mother, being a father is a rather abstract business." (7.37-41)
What David seems to be trying to say is, men pretty much go around spreading their seed, while women carry a child. Being a father, from his point of view, is as simple as having sex; mothers get more credit for producing "something with a life of its own." It seems that David wants to produce his opera as a way of creating and carrying something to term that he can call his own – something that he nurtured every step of the way.
Quote 24
"Can I guess?" he says. "Are you trying to remind me of something?"
"Am I trying to remind you of what?"
"Of what women undergo at the hands of men." (13.53-55)
After Lucy is raped, he wonders if his relationship with Melanie can be considered to be the same kind of violation as Lucy's rape. Here, we get the hint that he's insecure about the way Lucy sees him now that she has been a victim of sexual assault.