Bunny Quote by Nick Cave
““Through these days Bunny made increasingly frequent and protracted visits to the bathroom, beating off with a single-minded savagery intense even by Bunny's standards. Now, sitting on the sofa with a large Scotch, his cock feels and looks like something that has been involved in a terrible accident - a cartoon hotdog, maybe, that has made an unsuccessful attempt to cross a busy road. The boy sits beside him and the two of them are locked in a parenthesis of mutual zonkedness. Bunny Junior stares blankly at the encyclopedia open in his lap. His father watches the television, smokes his fag and drinks his whisky, like an automaton. After a time, Bunny turns his head and looks at his son and clocks the way he stares at his weird encyclopedia. He sees him but he can't really believe he is there. What does this kid want? What is he supposed to do with him? Who is he? Bunny feels like an extinct volcano, lifeless and paralysed. Yeah, he thinks, I feel like an extinct volcano - with a weird little kid to look after and a mangled sausage for a dick.””
About This Quote
A father confronts his own impotence and alienation while caring for a strange, detached child, feeling both physically and emotionally broken.
In simple terms: Parental alienation and decay
Aparent's self‑destruction mirrors his child's emptiness
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- caring for a dependent child
- experiencing sexual dysfunction
- feeling detached during family moments
- contemplating personal decay
Key Concepts
Practical Applications
- psychotherapy for parental burnout
- literary analysis of grotesque family narratives
Questions to Reflect On
- How does the father's perception of his body reflect his emotional state?
- What does the child's blank stare symbolize about communication within families?