Kubrick's characters often seem to lack a certain humanity, but I think that's by design. In my view, he was a genius misanthrope who thought homo sapiens had not risen much beyond their ape progenitors. It's not a view I espouse, but Kubrick was always artful in the telling.

I feel the same about those early scenes. I don't know how Kubrick establishes that crushingly heavy subtext without barely lifting a finger, but it's there for viewers who pay attention. I guess that's part of what made him the master.