Tuesday, November 01, 2005

"Darling--I seem to have this rabbit"


I changed my mind. Everything needn't have a meaning or purpose....yet even this is thought-provoking, wouldn't you say?


grin
I do love Thurber.

2 comments:

HSS said...

Aside to slightlee:

This is only a temporary diversion...I'm still thinking about your last comment.

Jesse said...

"Darling, I seem to have this rabbit:" I think that there's an existential undertone to this one line. I'd like to unpack it, to get to the meat of what is said here:

"I seem to have...": The man is unsure of whether his possession of the rabbit is actual or perceived. He does not know from where the rabbit comes, or if it is indeed a rabbit at all. If it is a rabbit, is it his? Does he possess the rabbit in truth? Or is the rabbit autonomous? Is his possession of the rabbit a transient state, or is it permanent, even eternal? When did he begin to possess the rabbit? Has he always possessed the rabbit?The questions are numerous.

"I seem to have this rabbit." The rabbit is an unexpected thing to possess. One would expect to own a cat, or even a pomegranite, but a rabbit is something surprising. It immediately creates a surreal, otherworldly feel to the picture. This man obviously just became aware of this rabbit. He does not know how long he has had this rabbit in his possession. The rabbit seems to symbolize some part of his nature, or perhaps a set of external characteristics that have imposed upon him some sort of negative circumstances. Either way, this realization that he has a rabbit in his possession has shocked him. He is disturbed; this is unexpected. What shall he do? Can he rid himself of the rabbit? Does he have the ability to free himself from the burden of the rabbit, to take control of his own destiny, so to speak?

The rabbit is larger than life. We all possess rabbits of which we are unaware. This picture reminds us to seek out the rabbits within us all, and deal with them as they are discovered.