The American wiIe expresses a desire Ior many things in this story.

She tells her husband that

iI she cannot have any Iun, then she might as well have things that she wants. In other words,
this desire Ior material goods comes Irom an inability to acquire intangible goods such as Iun
and aIIection. This lack oI intimacy is not entirely her husband's Iault, oI course. She also
ignores his compliments.
This American way, desiring material objects and becoming bored, is contrasted with an
Italian way oI vacationing. The Italians arrive in the same location to see the war memorial
and honor the war dead. They are more involved in the ideas oI the place than in owning
things Irom it. In addition, it is a more communal way oI living, to honor the sacriIices oI
others, rather than to stay inside and read.
Hello Everyone,

In his frictional story, "Cat in the Rain, Ernest Hemingway sets the scene
for his fiction in a hotel room in Italy on a rainy day. On the first reading
of this short story it can be easily interpreted as a wife nagging her
husband, who is lying in bed preoccupied reading a book. The young
married Americans being in a foreign country on business or pleasure,
(Hemingway does not say) one would expect that the expression of love
would be more prominent even more so on a rainy day, however, this is
not evident in Hemingways story. What Hemingway does illustrate is how
an "American wife feels starved for attention and love in her failing
marriage.

He uses a cat as a symbol of compassion an affection to express the
womans need for these emotions. Her frustration with her husband,
whom does not readily allow her to physically share these feelings with
him, also becomes very evident in the story. Hemingway uses the heavy
rains as a tool to confine the American couple to their room, thereby,
allowing him to display the interaction between the couple and further
demonstrate their deteriorating marriage.


In the story, the "American girl sees the cat through her window
"crouched under one of the dripping green tables, and immediately feels
the need to rescue it. Here is where Hemingway begins to use symbols to
express the girls determination to save her faltering marriage. He shows
the girls eagerness to go through the heavy rains to save the cat. The cat
represents what she wants in her marriage, affection and compassion, and
the rain signifies the struggles she is willing to go through to better her
marriage, even if it means getting wet in the process. The "American girl
believes this is a challenge she alone has to endure. Thus, when she
announces that she is going to rescue the cat from the rain and her
husband George offers to be the hero in the rescue attempt, even though
it was a halfhearted offer, she quickly replies "No, Ill get it.

With the help of the maid she goes through the rain in search of the cat
but when she gets to where she saw it last it has disappeared. The
"American wife becomes even more irritated with herself and her
husband when she returns to the room empty handed. She desperately
wanted the cat, "I wanted it so much, but more so, she wanted change in
her marriage and change in her appearance. She was tired of her boyish
look and felt she needed to be more feminine, "I get so tired of looking
like a boy. However, George was contented with how things were. He
barley even shifted from his book when she began scrutinizing her
appearance. The only comment of support he could offer was, "You look
pretty darn nice, but she required more for herself.


The cat, even though symbolic, would have allowed her to express her
feelings of affection and compassion, "I want to have a kitty to sit on my
lap and purr when I stroke her. George, being insensitive to her needs,
did not even offer himself as an outlet for her emotions. Instead his
remark to her was, "Oh, shut up and get something to read, as she
continued to utter her discomforts in her appearance and her femininity.

Hemingways fictional story does have a surprising ending when the maid
brings the "American wife a "big tortoise-shell cat. The "American wife
receives what she wanted, an outlet to express her affections and
compassions, but in fact, it would not help her marriage. The cat was just
a symbol of what she wanted from her husband, George. Unless she can
convince him to be more open with her and more lovingly expressive with
her, her marriage will still falter.