Cat in the Rain (2)

Ernest Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain” is a short story which describes misunderstanding and indifference in a relationship between a man and a woman.

At first glance, this is a simple story about a couple who travels together to Italy and enjoy spending time together. In fact, the author gives some prompts which prove how these people are unhappy together.

To begin with, the mood of the story itself is sad. The author often repeats that it is raining: “It was raining. The rain dripped from the palm trees. The sea line broke in a long line in the rain…”  It creates the atmosphere of sadness and unhappiness.

Almost the whole action takes place in the room. Probably the author in such a way wants to emphasize that this couple is not interested in anything. Although they are travelling it seems that most of the time they spend in the room, each doing his/her business. The most indifferent to that what happens around is the husband. When the author writes about the husband he mentions his position in the room: “her husband offered from the bed”, “lying propped up with the two pillows at the foot of the bed”. George feels comfortable in his world, in the bed with a book, whereas his wife is ready to go under a heavy rain to get the cat. They are too different. Moreover, the author shows the wife’s interest towards another character of the story, the hotel-keeper: “The wife liked him. She liked the deadly serious way he received any complaints. She liked his dignity. She liked the way he felt about being a hotel-keeper. She liked his old, heavy face and big hands.” So many “she liked”, but focused on absolutely strange man. Not a single “she liked” for her husband. It proves the wife was not happy with her husband.

The author does not describe the characters directly. So the reader can characterize them from the point of view of their behavior and dialogues.

As to the title, “cat” is a symbol. On the one hand it is a symbol of wife’s loneliness. The cat was sitting alone in the rain, lonely and helpless, like the wife probably felt in her marriage. On the other hand it symbolizes wife’s desires. She repeats: “I wanted it so much. I wanted that poor kitty”. And then she says: “And I want to eat at a table with my own silver and I want candles. And I want it to be spring and I want to brush my hair out in front of a mirror and I want a kitty and I want some new clothes.” I think the cat and all these things she wants are connected. Well, a cat is often associated with home and cosiness. And probably the wife missed it in her relationship with husband. That’s why the author repeats that the wife wants that cat so much.

So, in order to understand this short story the reader has to read between the lines. Only in this way the reader is able to understand that in fact this story is about lonely people, for who is difficult to find a person which would be similar to them.