FREE ESSAY ON ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S "CAT IN THE RAIN"

ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S "CAT IN THE RAIN"

In today's society, people have the assumptions that we have evolved far beyond past
cultural notions and marital stereotypes. The reality to this is that we are not so
superior and tend to take the easy way out in relationships. This is reflected through
our atrocious divorce rate. The American wife in Ernest Hemingway's "Cat in the Rain,"
although controlled by her husband, George, is an obvious victim of marital neglect.
While vacationing in Italy, the romance capital of the world, George's use of control and
carelessness cause the wife to focus on a stray cat for fulfillment.
Although the couple is on a romantic vacation, George proceeds to neglect his wife. This
is evident not only in his mannerisms but also in his lack of involvement in her want for
the cat. When the wife says that she wants to go get the cat, George makes a poor attempt
at offering to help. Unmoving and still laying in his same position on the bed, he
remains focused on his book, and offers a half-hearted "I'll get it"(533). Since she is
not looked after by her husband, she takes comfort in the fact that the innkeeper takes a
liking to her and a concern to her well-being. By offering her an umbrella and his
assistance "the pardone made her feel very small and at the same time very important. She
had a momentary feeling of supreme importance" (534). Often times women who are neglected
need to seek outside attention, whether negative or positive. The fact that the pardone
gave the American wife this feeling of importance reflects the lack of attention or even
affection she receives from George. On the other hand, she can be like 
most women who are, in fact, attention whores. These are the type of women who, no matter
how much attention they receive from any particular source still demand more. While she
very well can be an attention whore, the American wife's extreme need for notice is a
direct result of George's inability to pay her the attention of which she thrives.
Even though George is a neglectful husband, his controlling nature is of the sort that
denies her many of her wants, needs, and desires. Many things in the American wife's life
are not as she wishes them to be. She would like to have longer hair as well new clothes,
silver, and candles. Some would suggest that these needs are just superficial and
material needs, that they hold no relevance into the fact that she is ignored. On the
contrary, her inability to obtain these things or to be allowed these things reflect the
domineering traits George possesses. Sometimes when a spouse is controlling over his
counterpart, it is because of a fear of losing their significant other. That somehow if
George's wife were to have long hair she would look a lot prettier, making him more
vulnerable to the fact she could leave him. Another reason for George not to allow his
wife to grow her hair when she confesses that she is "so tired of looking like a
boy"(534) is because he wants her to look as though she is not truly a woman, more of an
immature object whom he has control over. As she continues to describe her longing to
look like a girl, with long hair with "a big knot at the back that I can feel"(535) and
her desires for "a kitty and some new clothes"(535) George simply orders her to "shut up
and get something to read"(535). George just doesn't want to hear it. His wife is almost
slave-like to him, any opinions expressed result in George's responses just to get her to
stop talking. What kind of marriage are these two entangled in? Obviously the American
wife is putting up with a lot, doing all that she can to please while George tells her
how to act, dress, and even wear her hair. Even though she is controlled, it isn't
entirely George's fault because she subjects herself to that type of treatment. 
As the American wife becomes enthralled in retrieving the cat, some questions arise as to
why she is so focused, and what the cat represents. When women or anybody for that matter
are neglected, they turn to animals or objects for a sort of therapy. They can become the
caretaker of such things as a cat and find beauty and care in them which they know they
possess, however they just can't come to terms with because of certain outside factors.
In this case, a controlling husband. Since she describes the cat as "a poor kitty out in
the rain"(534) which she wants so much but doesn't know why, she sees herself in the cat,
as though she is stuck in the rain having no fun. She identifies with the poor kitty and
wants to care for it. After all, misery loves company. One could argue that her need for
the cat is just another one of her many needs, that nothing is ever enough for her. Here
they are, this American couple, on holiday in Italy, which George obviously provided for
her, and all she can think of is having more stuff. "I want a cat. I want a cat now. If I
can't have long hair or any fun, I can have a cat"(535). Here she is shown as just an
immature child-like "girl" who is clearly spoiled rotten. This kind of behavior only
precludes the fact that George is neglectful. George is doing quite a lot to make her
happy and she is ungrateful, unhappy with herself to the extent that she needs to
constantly look to new sources for attention and approval. On the other hand, the fact
that she feels so grand when the innkeeper shows her attention makes me believe that she
really isn't receiving enough attention from who she most certainly should be receiving
it from, her own husband. It is almost like she looks to him for the protection and care
her husband cannot provide. This goes back to the immaturity issue, like she needs to be
rescued or something, or maybe even seeking a father figure. The whole idea that she
wants to rescue the cat from the rain reflects her own desire to be rescued. On her way
to do so, the pardone happens to be there to help, or offer assistance and make her
important. 
In conclusion, I think that although the American wife does possess traits which make her
spoiled, and even immature, she is definitely a victim of neglect.