Short Fiction · Chapter
Cat in the Rain explained
An American wife, staying at an Italian hotel with her husband George, spots a cat sheltering from the rain under a table.
What happens
An American wife, staying at an Italian hotel with her husband George, spots a cat sheltering from the rain under a table. She goes to retrieve it but finds it gone. Disappointed, she returns to the room and expresses a series of desires for domestic comfort and femininity, which George dismisses. At the end, the maid brings a tortoiseshell cat sent by the hotelkeeper.
Themes in this chapter
American Identity and Disillusionment
The American couple's isolation in a foreign hotel and the wife's unfulfilled longings highlight a sense of displacement and disillusionment.
Masculinity and Sexual Anxiety
George's indifference to his wife's desires and his preference for her boyish haircut suggest underlying tensions around gender roles and intimacy.
Characters to notice
- The girl
The American wife who longs for the cat and expresses dissatisfaction with her appearance and life.
- George Gardner
The American husband who remains absorbed in his book and dismisses his wife's desires.
Key passages
“I wanted it so much. I wanted that poor kitty. It isn't any fun to be a poor kitty out in the rain.”
She expresses a deep, inexplicable longing for the cat, empathizing with its vulnerability in the rain.
The cat becomes a symbol of her own feelings of helplessness and desire for comfort.
“I want to pull my hair back tight and smooth and make a big knot at the back that I can feel. I want to have a kitty to sit on my lap and purr when I stroke her.”
She articulates a wish for traditional femininity and domestic warmth, contrasting with her current boyish appearance.
Her desires reflect a yearning for a more conventional, nurturing role.
“Oh, shut up and get something to read.”
George dismisses her list of wants with irritation, telling her to occupy herself with a book.
His response underscores his emotional detachment and lack of empathy.