"What is it they want from the man that they didn't get from the work? What do they expect? What is there left when he's done with his work, what's any artist but the dregs of his work, the human shambles that follows it around?"

This quote by William Gaddis is a reflection on the expectations of an artist and the work they produce. He is asking what individuals expect from an artist beyond the work they produce. He recommends that once the work is done, all that is left is the artist themselves, who is frequently viewed as a "disarray" in contrast to the work they have actually created. Gaddis is recommending that the artist is often ignored and underestimated, and that the work they produce is seen as more crucial than the artist themselves. He is questioning why people focus a lot on the work and not the artist, and why the artist is seen as a lesser being than the work they have actually created.