Cat In The Rain Critical Analysis

Sometimes things might not be as they seem, it seems perfect on the outside, but on the inside there is hunger for more that what is it, this more could be many things, such as attention, love or respect. When searching for more attention and love we might seek to desperate deeds. Our desires are controlling us, and we are ready to do whatever it takes to fulfill these, this is exactly what the main character in Ernest Hemingway’s American minimalistic story, Cat in the Rain (1925) does when she wants to rescue the cat from the rain and being alone out there.

Hemingway is an acknowledged writer when it comes to American minimalist fiction, and he developed the iceberg theory/technique, which says that stories should reveal the most essential

In the beginning our main character is being called the American wife, she is look out of the window, watching a cat crouched under a table, she decides to go get it, even though it is raining, at that point she calls the cat, a cat, but at some point it changes. She is being called American girl, which is because she shows childish behavior when she is looking for the cat “I wanted that poor kitty. It isn’t fun to be a poor kitty out in the rain” (P.2, l. 29), which emphasizes how childish he is by being steady and calling it a kitty.

She seems lonely, and her husband is just lying in bed with his book not paying her any attention, which is way she enjoys the attention from the padrone. The padrone made her feel things: “Something felt very small and tight inside the girl. […] She had a momentary feeling of being of supreme importance” (P.2, l. 19-23), this shows us how much it means for her to feel important. Likewise she likes how he courts her “She liked the way he wanted to serve her” (P.2, l.32), this gets us the feeling that she are not used to being served or getting attention from her husband. The padrone makes her feel like a lady, “She liked his old, heavy face and big hands”, this emphasizes how she sees him and studies his appearance. He is masculine with his big

He stays satisfied throughout the story, he is not a big fan of change “George looked up and saw the back of her neck, clipped close like a boy’s. “I like it the way it is”” (P.2, l. 36-38), this underlines how he feels about change, and how conservative he is, when it comes to women’s appearance. He does not seem to care about her needs, and he is not paying her any attention. He is dismissive and dominating “”Oh, shut up and get something to read” George said. He was reading again” (P.3, l. 8-9), by this we get the impression of him being dominating towards her. When she talks about wanting the cat George offers to do it “”I’ll do it,” her husband offered from the bed […] The husband went on reading, lying propped up with the two pillows at the foot of the bed”, this indicates that even though he offered it, he was not going to do it. Through out the story a contrast between the Padrone and George is created, the last line makes the contrast more distinct “In the doorway stood the maid. She held a big tortoise-shell cat […] The padrone asked me to bring this for the Signora” (P.3, l. 18-21), which once again shows how much the padrone cares about her needs and her