[He] adopted a role called Being a Father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a Protector.

The line frames fatherhood not as a biological fact but as a consciously assumed “role,” almost a piece of social theater undertaken for a child’s psychological needs. By calling the father “mythical and infinitely important,” the quote suggests that children rely on symbolic figures—larger-than-life protectors—to make the world feel ordered and safe. The emphasis on “Protector” implies that authority and care are intertwined: the father’s value lies less in personal authenticity than in reliably embodying a protective ideal. In Wolfe’s typical mode, the phrasing also hints at irony about modern role-playing, while still treating the child’s need for a protector as profound.