Quote 10
"You know Seymour," said the girl, and crossed her legs again. "He says he doesn't want a lot of fools looking at his tattoo."
"He doesn't have any tattoo! Did he get one in the Army?"
"No, Mother. No, dear," said the girl, and stood up. (1.107-9)
Much of what Seymour says implies a hidden – and often spiritual – meaning.
Quote 11
"Mother," the girl interrupted, "listen to me. You remember that book he sent me from Germany? You know – those German poems. What'd I do with it? I've been racking my – " (1.36)
Seymour is clearly quite earnest in asking Muriel to read the poems (Rilke, we can infer). But she doesn't take his request seriously at all, and instead misplaces the book he so valued.
Quote 12
"I mean all he does is lie there. He won't take his bathrobe off." (1.103)
Seymour makes attempts to insulate and isolate himself from the rest of the world. He's afraid to reveal any of himself.