Hi, Alex - That was one of the first principles I learned in psychology, namely that frustration breeds aggression. I saw it in my teaching career when students couldn't grasp a concept and would react with the illogical opposite - ex. "I don't get this, so it's stupid." That's where despair enters in and we feel there are no answers or that life is a riddle not worth solving. Marcus in the story feels Elias is a high priest of mumbo jumbo who answers questions by raising others and disturbing the placid universe within him.