# Venus and the Cat explained — Aesop's Fables

> Chapter companion for Aesop's Fables by Aesop.

## What happens

A cat falls in love with a young man and asks Venus to transform her into a woman. Venus grants the wish, and the cat becomes a beautiful maiden who marries the man. To test if the cat's nature has changed, Venus releases a mouse; the woman immediately chases it, revealing her true instincts. Disgusted, Venus turns her back into a cat.

## Themes in this chapter

### Appearance vs. Reality

The cat's beautiful human form conceals her true feline instincts, which are revealed when she chases the mouse.

### Human Nature and Vice

The story underscores the persistence of innate nature and the futility of trying to suppress one's fundamental character.

## Character check-ins

### The Cat

Falls in love with a young man, is transformed into a woman by Venus, but reverts to her feline nature when she chases a mouse.

### Venus

Goddess who transforms the cat into a woman and later reverses the transformation after testing her nature.

### The Mouse

Released by Venus to test the transformed cat's instincts.

## Key lines

> A Cat fell in love with a handsome young man, and begged the goddess Venus to change her into a woman.

A cat developed romantic feelings for a good-looking man and asked Venus to turn her into a human.

_Opening premise of the fable._

> Forgetting everything, the young woman had no sooner seen the mouse than up she jumped and was after it like a shot

The woman instantly forgot her human manners and chased the mouse as soon as she saw it.

_Climactic moment revealing the cat's unchanged instincts._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters/venus-and-the-cat
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters