Quote 1
Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty. . . A little black girl who wanted to rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes. His outrage grew and felt like power. For the first time he honestly wished he could work miracles. (3.9.21)
Soaphead takes pity on Pecola when he sees the extent of her self-loathing.
Quote 2
Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty....A little black girl who wanted to rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes. His outrage grew and felt like power. For the first time he honestly wished he could work miracles. (3.9.21)
This passage fleshes out Soaphead's character a bit and suggests that he has a great capacity for empathy. It also reminds us of Soaphead's own racial self-hatred, so we can see why he would be inclined to try to help Pecola battle her feelings of ugliness.
Quote 3
Once there was an old man who loved things, for the slightest contact with people produced in him a faint but persistent nausea. (3.9.1)
Soaphead Church believes that his "nature" is to love objects and not people. This misanthropy leads him to become attracted to young girls.
Quote 4
His sexuality was anything but lewd; his patronage of little girls smacked of innocence and was associated in his mind with cleanliness. He was what one might call a very clean old man. (3.9.5)
Soaphead's rationalization of his behavior should be taken with a huge grain of salt here. In any case, the passage shows how his sexual attraction to young girls correlates directly with his attempt to purify himself, both racially and spiritually. It also seems to be a way to combat his first wife Velma's rejection. "Clean old man" is a funny twist on the phrase "dirty old man."
Quote 5
His sexuality was anything but lewd; his patronage of little girls smacked of innocence and was associated in his mind with cleanliness. He was what one might call a very clean old man. (3.9.5)
Soaphead – the sole academic figure in the book – uses his intelligence to manipulate the concept of innocence, extending it to include his own sexuality.