Cat in the
Rain is a short story by Ernest Hemingway set against the Italian backdrop on a
rainy day. The duration of the story hardly stretches up to a day but it ably
puts forth the idea of vacationing on a rainy day. On the contrary, the story
goes anti-romantic for the American couple.
In a hotel in
Italy, there are only two guests and they are American couple. The hotel
overlooks the sea and a very famous war memorial for that to see people come
from across the world. However, the couple is less attentive by its presence.
It is raining.
George, the husband of an American girl, is busy reading a book in a hotel
room. However the girl is observed in the rain outside, she is at the window.
Downright their hotel room, she notices a cat is tussling hard beneath a green
table to escape being drenched in the rain. The American girl wants to procure
that pretty kitty; she insists and goes down stair. As she reaches down, the
innkeeper bows down to her in order to make her feel important - an important
virtue in the field of hospitality. She likes the graveness on his face. In
fact, she liked him for his face countenance and sincerity. When she is out in
the chilly rain with the maid, she is disappointed to find no cat there. She
returns dispirited.
In the room,
her husband continues reading. She insists to have that kitty. Then she
expresses her wish to have led a luxury life and proposes to change her hair
style for a change. Unaffected by her, the husband responds vapidly as a result
and in frustration she says, “If I can’t have long hair or any fun, I want a
cat.”
Soon there is
a knock on the door. The maid appears with the cat clapped beneath her bosom.
The maid says that the cat is from the innkeeper. The story underlines the
missing element of romance in the couple’s lives as they are out for
vacationing. Since the husband is shown passive, more into reading, the wife
thinks of having some fun or to pass her time by obtaining the cat. At the same
time, the hedonistic desires of a woman can never take back seat. As soon as
she gets chance, she fails not to express it. Conclusively, the story depicts
if not hedonistic pleasure then fun and frivolities and romance in the nature
is a preferred choice. No one likes a void in life, especially wives of passive
husband.
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