Saul wears the face paint of a Beijing Opera villain. While he is the more politically powerful man in this scene, it is David, dressed as a peasant, who is marked with the dragon. Saul is under the influence of the evil spirit, despairing, frustrated, wanting both to kill David and to be comforted by David's music. David flails his expressive white sleeve (water sleeves, worn by both male and female characters in Chinese opera) skyward in distress.