Sherly Chandradinata
ENG.4U
Mr. Tan Meng Chwen
A Cat In The Rain
In the story "Cat In The Rain", the American girl's husband treats her with lack of affection, apathy and indifference. The couple is on a vacation, but 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”. When she starts telling him all the things desires for “a kitty and some new clothes”, he simply orders her to “shut up and get something to read”. George just doesn’t want to hear it. She wasn't asking much; simple things, little things, and most of the times little things are what counts most. He thinks she's acting like a spoiled child, he doesn't understand her, and he makes no efforts to make her feel loved, wanted, to make her feel like a real woman. She claims to feel like a boy when she confesses that she is “so tired of looking like a boy” is because she needs physical and emotional attention, which her husband doesn't grant her. Thus, this describes her solitude and miserable life. Since she is not looked after by her husband, she takes comfort in the fact that the hotelkeeper 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.” The hotel keeper was the man who made her feel important; nevertheless she admires his will to serve her. He gives her the attention she needs. In other words, he made her feel like a lady. Just like the cat, the American girl feels lonely and she needs to be “pet”. 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...