Bastard Out of Carolina Sex Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

It was like sex, that food, too good to waste on the middle of the day and a roomful of men too tired to taste […] He began to feel for the first time like one of the boys, a grown man accepted by the notorious and dangerous Black Earle Boatwright, staring across the counter at one of the prettiest women he'd ever seen. (1.50)

Glen's priorities are kind of weird here: first he thinks about being accepted by Earle, and second he thinks about Anney, the supposed conveyor of orgasmic (not to be confused with "organic") food. It seems that for Glen, sex is more about showing yourself to be a man than it is about sex itself.

Quote #2

She flushed then, and smelled her own sweat, nervously unable to tell if it came from fear or lust. (1.58)

Fear and lust seem like pretty different feelings. Shouldn't you be able to tell them apart? Well, the truth is, it's not impossible to feel both, and that's probably why Anney can't tell the difference here. The fact that Anney simultaneously distrusts Glen and feels attracted to him foreshadows their relationship.

Quote #3

Love, at least love for a man not already part of the family, was something I was a little unsure about. Aunt Alma said love had more to do with how pretty a body was than anyone would ever admit […] (3.1)

Word, Alma. Bone is still quite young at this point, so she doesn't really understand romantic and sexual attraction. Alma seems to think that it's really more sexual than it is romantic, and the more we learn about Anney and Glen's relationship, the more we get the sense that this might be true—at least for them.