Horns
David recounts, “When I was a boy, I lived in horror of a clock-a dark and foreboding spectre that towered twice my height in the hardwood hallway of my childhood home and even larger in my imagination. It was a mahogany clock, its hood rising in two wooden cues that curled like horns on a devil’s head.” David utilizes the metaphoric devil’s horns when describing the clock’s cues to highlight his extreme dread of the clocks. He imagines that the clock epitomizes evilness due to his devil-like cues.
‘Man-made implements’
David asserts, “I have wondered if I am deluding myself with these, that I am buying time-surrounding myself with man-made implements of immortality…Whatever the reason, my fascination has grown into a full-blown obsession. My home is besieged with them.” He is referring to clocks which he deems to be depictions of immortality. His obsession with immortality leads him to acquire multiple clocks to gratify the unconscious yearning for immortality.
“Female despotism”
Evans writes, “The woman (Eliza Huish, the midwife) sized up the room’s occupants, then went to work with priggish fervor. Her first official act was to expel David from the room. In reluctant retreat, he left the parlor with his hands raised above his head and told Mark outside, “It is a time of female despotism.” Here, Mary Anne is about to deliver, and David must comply with the midwife’s order to move out of the room. He deems it despotic because the order is issued by a woman who feels that David cannot be present when Mary Anne is delivering because he is a male.
“Secret Password”
Evans explains, “On a strange twist of social convention, Lawrence had become the toast of the city’s elite widowhood, and those who sought its ranks would drop his name at teas and brunches like a secret password…It was suspected that some widows would actually damage their clocks as an excuse to visit the horologist.” The metaphorical ‘secret password’ confirms that Lawrence is popular among the widows in the cities. The widows admire Lawrence and look for reasons to see him. They love him ad would want him to get their attention.
“Stone expression”
David tells Maryanne, “I walk around with this stone expression like some kind of statue. But I do not have a stone heart…And I wonder if this wall I have built up is to protect me from further assault or to retain the last vestige of humanity with me. Are men supposed to feel loss? Because I feel it, Mary. I feel it as heavy as a horse falling on me…And I miss my little girl and I don't even feel worthy to do so."
The emblematical "stone expression" underscores David's sadness, making him appear like a bitter and cold man. He has been hiding his pain using a wall that connotes suppression. He is overwhelmed by missing his daughter that he equates the pain to a ‘horse falling’ on him. He finds it difficult to rise above his masculinity when weathering his loss.
