How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
For it was true: I was all he had. I have always wondered if it ever occurred to him, this man of whom it might be said there had never been another of more towering, awe-inspiring self-absorption, that the opposite was also true—he was all I had. (2.22)
No wonder Will Henry is so lonely. To have Dr. Warthrop so unaware of their isolation makes him only more alone. If the doc had an ounce of understanding and gave him a little attention (as a person, not an assistant), perhaps Will Henry wouldn't feel so deserted.
Quote #2
At their funeral the doctor had laid a hand upon my shoulder and said, "I don't know what I shall do now, Will Henry. Their services were indispensable to me." He seemed oblivious to the fact that he was speaking to the child left orphaned and homeless by their demise. (2.38)
Umm, right. Could he be any more heartless? His assistant and cleaning woman died, and he's having a pity party in front of their destitute, orphaned child. This is the man to whom Will Henry will have to turn to during his dark moments of mourning. He will receive exactly zero compassion, poor kid.
Quote #3
Though puzzling at the time—and annoying, for he always managed to wake me after a long and bitter struggle with Somnus had been won—it finally occurred to me that the service I was providing was as indispensable to him as any other, perhaps more so than any other, perhaps the most vital service of all: to ease the dreadful burden of his loneliness. (4.62)
If only Dr. Warthrop could have admitted to himself that he was just lonely, maybe they could've offered each other companionship. Perhaps it was his ego or a lack of self-awareness, but alas, they are both forced to continue to struggle in their own isolated little worlds.