How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
What does he really want for Lucy? Not that she should be forever a child, forever innocent, forever his—certainly not that. But he is a father, that is his fate, and as a father grows older he turns more and more—it cannot be helped—toward his daughter. She becomes his second salvation, the bride of his youth reborn. (10.58)
Throughout the novel, David has to struggle with what his relationship with Lucy actually is. Since she's a grownup now, the dynamic between father and daughter is no longer the same as it was when Lucy was a kid. As a man getting on in years, David has to come to depend on Lucy in different ways than he's used to.
Quote #5
As a child Lucy had been quiet and self-effacing, observing him but never, as far as he knew, judging him. Now, in her middle twenties, she has begun to separate. The dogs, the gardening, the astrology books, the asexual clothes: in each he recognizes a statement of independence, considered, purposeful. The turn away from men too. Making her own life. Coming out of his shadow. Good! He approves! (11.10)
In this moment, we don't just learn more about Lucy – we also get some very telling information about the dynamic between her and David.
Quote #6
Though he strains to hear, he can make out no sound from the house. Yet if his child were calling, however mutely, surely he would hear! (11.80)
Even as someone who seems to have had a somewhat distant relationship from Lucy in the past, David's fatherly instincts kick into high gear in this moment. It seems a given that if Lucy needed her dad, he would be able to hear her – no matter how far away she was or how silently she called for him.