Hell Bent

The symbol of the white rabbit, often mutilated, appears throughout the back half of the novel, and represents the loss of innocence and regrets of the characters. In “The Descent,” it appears in the visions of the past for all the characters who enter hell. In each instance, it temporarily takes the place of a critical element in each scene. It appears as the bust Dawes uses to kill Blake, the railing Tripp holds onto on the ship, and the gun Carmichael gives Turner to stage the scene. Anselm/Golgarot also uses a crowned, anthropomorphic white rabbit as his main form when he is facing the characters in hell. The rabbit holds the greatest significance for Galaxy Stern, or Alex, and it is she who imagined it in all these scenarios. The narrative later reveals its origin: It is Babbit Rabbit, the white rabbit she adopted with Hellie that was mauled to death by Len’s dog. She blames herself for the rabbit’s death and believes, “that bringing Babbit Rabbit home was the worst, most selfish thing she’d ever done. Nothing good belonged with her” (442). He stands in for the good and innocent things that she is lost throughout her life and over the course of the story.