A Brief Analysis on Cat in the Rain
The short story “Cat in the Rain” was written by E. Hemingway in the 1920s. E. Hemingway, the author, is one of the most famous American novelists, short-story writers and essayists, whose deceptively simple prose style has influenced a wide range of writers. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.
"Cat in the Rain" is one of his famous short stories, depicting an American couple that spends their holiday in an Italian hotel. The woman in the story sees a cat stranded under a table in the rain and wants to bring it to her hotel room. When she goes to retrieve the cat, however, it is gone. So she returns to the hotel room and has a conversation with her husband about finding out the cat and then about changing her whole Life. Her husband, however, seems to be terribly annoyed by her and not interested at all. Eventually, the cat is delivered to her room by a maid at the request of the hotelkeeper.
It seems that there is no obvious and clear theme in this short story, just about a trivial matter between one couple in the daily life. But if we take into consideration the background of the story---after the WWI in Europe, and the major thought and feeling of Hemingway at that time. We can realize that it is not as superficial as it appears, but to express the indifference of people after the WWI even between the couple: one remains dominant and repressive while the other is trying to change and improve the situation; worse still, they do not recognize the problem, thus making it become more like the depressive weather in this short story, until there approaches the winter when their love dies.
In the story, The American woman is struggling because this marriage can't meet her expectations. The woman wants a stable home where she is loved and respected by her husband. But her husband doesn't share the same idea and is content with their current life style. He treats her with a lack of affection, apathy and indifference. When she starts telling him all
"Cat in the Rain" is one of his famous short stories, depicting an American couple that spends their holiday in an Italian hotel. The woman in the story sees a cat stranded under a table in the rain and wants to bring it to her hotel room. When she goes to retrieve the cat, however, it is gone. So she returns to the hotel room and has a conversation with her husband about finding out the cat and then about changing her whole Life. Her husband, however, seems to be terribly annoyed by her and not interested at all. Eventually, the cat is delivered to her room by a maid at the request of the hotelkeeper.
It seems that there is no obvious and clear theme in this short story, just about a trivial matter between one couple in the daily life. But if we take into consideration the background of the story---after the WWI in Europe, and the major thought and feeling of Hemingway at that time. We can realize that it is not as superficial as it appears, but to express the indifference of people after the WWI even between the couple: one remains dominant and repressive while the other is trying to change and improve the situation; worse still, they do not recognize the problem, thus making it become more like the depressive weather in this short story, until there approaches the winter when their love dies.
In the story, The American woman is struggling because this marriage can't meet her expectations. The woman wants a stable home where she is loved and respected by her husband. But her husband doesn't share the same idea and is content with their current life style. He treats her with a lack of affection, apathy and indifference. When she starts telling him all