Cat in the Rain Essay

Cat in the Rain is a short story about an American couple on vacation to Italy. They are in their first year of marriage. The husband has a dismissive attitude towards the wife and the wife always wants more. In the story the couple has a lot of selfishness going on in their relationship. The husband ignores his wife’s needs and the wife and the wife is not satisfied with her husband. The theme of this story has a lot to do with loneliness in the couples’ relationship. In this story the American couple is trapped in their hotel room with nothing to do because of the raining weather. The husband wants to read and ignore his wife. So the wife is looking out the window and sees a cat crouched from the rain. She wants to go downstairs and get the cat. She tells her husband about it and he shrugs it off. The wife goes down herself and the story talks a lot about how she likes the inn keeper. I find that this part of the story most affected me when the husband ignored his wife’s wants and needs. She really wanted that cat because it was something for her to do and feel good about. Her husband obviously doesn’t satisfy her which makes her feel lonely and the cat would keep her company. The wife in this story wants to feel appreciated and loved like any other woman would. Being married for their first year is beginning to be hard for them. Hemingway tries to tell about a first marriage of a couple he once knew and how hard it is for some to always keep that happiness. Couples always have disagreements but should never feel alone. A husband should not ignore his wife’s needs and in this story that is what he does instead of trying to satisfy his wife. Close to the ending of this story the wife was not able to find the cat. She came back in the hotel room very sad. She tries to tell her husband but he does not listen. She starts complaining about what she wants to change about herself. She wants â€Å"her hair to be long so she can brush it† and she wants a cat. The husband can only say that he likes things the way they are. He tells her to shut up. He does not care what the wife’s needs are or what she wants. He does not want to listen and he just wants to read which is what he wishes she would do. This part of the story really interested me because I could not get as to why the husband doesn’t respond to what she asks for. The wife desperately wants attention and he is not giving it to her. The story of the American couple explains a lot about how the wife tries to get attention from the husband. Hemingway talks about a cat but behind that cat this story means more. The lack of attention her husband gives her may make her feel that she is restricted on expressing herself and keeps most of her feelings inside. The cat stays compact to stay dry outside, which is how the wife feels she has to be with her husband to make him happy. She hides herself constantly from him. In this story it relates to her as American wife and never tells her name. This kind of says that she is nothing but an American wife which is exactly how she feels. Hemingway had a unique way of telling the story but the way he told it had a lot of meaning to it. He showed the couples loneliness in a different way.