Amy Illing 12M
The Cat in the Rain
Hemingway’s The Cat in the Rain presents presents us the two central characters of the American ex-pat wife and her husband, husband, George at a hotel in Italy. The short story is rife with symbolism and meaning, efficiently eff iciently carried by detailed descriptions of the characters and the surrounding environments, creating many different approaches to the story. Stand out critical positions are Marxist and Feminist, demonstrated by looking closely at Hemingway’s simplistic, but intricate style of literature.
Upon reflection, the Marxist idea can be very easily manifested through The Cat in with the Rain with
the idea of hierarchy being challenged. The typical American white
wealth, with an unspoken position of superiority, expresses a desire for many things in this story, for one, the American girl’s desire for the ‘kitty.’ However ‘kitty.’ However the Marxist idea is highlighted when the American girl cannot get the cat for herself and the only way her materialistic desires for ‘things,’ in this instance the cat, is fulfilled is when her inferior the Italian maid fetches it for her, undermining the American white supremacy instated by their wealth and race. r ace. This also raises other issues; the American ex-pat couple holiday holiday in another country and try to impose their way of life onto different cultures. The American wife states ‘the cat shouldn’t be out in the rain,’ which could be seen as more of a statement of higher intelligence, almost condescending towards the lower class maid. The American vs Italian way of living/holidaying is very much different and Hemingway can be shown to highlight this. It could almost be seen as an Anti-American story as the picture painted of the two different cultures shows shows clear flaws in the societal view of Americans. This American way, desiring material objects objects and becoming bored, bored, is contrasted with an Italian way of vacationing. The Italians, altruistic and gallant, arrive in the same location to see the war memorial and honour the war dead. They are more involved in the ideas of the place than in owning things from it. I n addition, it is a more communal way of living, to honour the sacrifices of others, rather than to stay inside and read, representing the American acquisitive, individual way of living.
The padrone and American husband, George’s interactions with the American girl could also be seen to be indicative of the aforementioned points. The Italian padrone
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holds warm, emotional engagements with the girl and the wife therefore feels a strange attachment to him, claiming she ‘liked him.’ This juxtaposes completely to George’s relationship with his wife, which illustrates an emotionally barren couple, isolated by self-absorption. This is further demonstrated by George’s nonchalant, disinterested attitude to his wife’s decrepitude, and therefore her desire for material goods comes from an inability to acquire intangible goods such as fun and affection from George.
There are elements of a Feminist perspective which could be taken into consideration when looking into Hemingway’s work. Hemingway seems to present the female characters as inadequate to their male equivalents; the Italian maid is at the padrone’s disposal and her duty is to carry out jobs under his instruction creating the feeling of male dominance and control. Similarly, the American wife is made out to be a very hopeless character. She is patronized and ignored by her husband who tells her to “shut up & find something to read.” Her materialistic personality generically labels women as needing to be appeased and not able to do anything for themselves.
Hemingway can be seen as using spatial confinement as a way of demonstrating the lack of female freedom and individuality under the confines of male dominance. Physical and emotional barriers lead to the isolation of the American wife, for example, the husband never leaves the bed in their hotel room, symbolising his lack of contact and therefore desire for his wife, and in turn almost asserting his dominance over the female. This physical distance between the two characters creates emotional confinement between male and females as demonstrated by Hemingway. The padrone’s desk similarly has this effect, making t he interactions between the characters feel remote and not easily accessible as a result of the physical distance; the wife feels ‘small.’ This could be seen as Hemingway successfully belittling the female sex by giving them t he feeling of claustrophobic isolation, creating an unjust attitude towards male and female characters, maybe in turn highlighting a sexist problems only raised when a feminist eye is cast upon the text.
Amy Illing 12M
