I know lots of people would want to make their blog posts on longer and deeper stories of Hemingway's like "The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber," with lots of things and parts to interpret, so I decided to stick with a shorter yet denser story of his, "Cat in the Rain."
One thing that piqued my interest was why the couple were at a hotel in Italy. In the Nick Adams stories we've read, Hemingway states that Nick Adams was wounded in Italy while on the battlefield fighting, just like Hemingway was in real life while fighting with the Red Cross.
And this seems to match up with "Cat in the Rain"; The story takes place during generally the same time, and there are people gathered around a war monument described towards the beginning of the story. Hemingway was probably making a subtle allusion to his experience in WWI.
But, "Cat in the Rain" has almost no relation to WWI. I don't think the setting of Italy was to discuss the war, but rather to just be a foreign location that Hemingway could write about, with his experience of being in Italy for WWI.
But, this still doesn't answer the question of why the couple were in this hotel.
My first impressions were that they were in the hotel for a vacation. The location described in the first 3 paragraphs made their hotel seem like a nice place, "facing the sea... public garden and the war monument." The biggest evidence to suggest this are the palm trees; they aren't native to Italy, and are very expensive trees to have, a symbol of art and money. They aren't just staying in some shabby run-down inn, they are in a relatively good hotel.
But, Hemingway didn't write this story about a happy vacation. No, it's raining outside! And this isn't the only reason it's a gloomy day; the entire square where people would normally be looking at the war monument was completely empty, except for a waiter by his cafe. This setting is comparable to the wife and husband's relationship. It should be and at one point probably was happy, but right now, it is unsettling, with conflicting ideas between the Husband and Wife, the Wife wanting to have more things and have fun, while the Husband wants her to stay the way she is, and is more placid. However, when the cat arrives, the wife gets her way, and the story ends. Maybe the Husband would continue to argue with his Wife, or maybe he would learn to understand the feelings she expressed in the short story. The rain can lead to a storm, but it can also clear, leaving an open, blue sky.
I like the comparison that you wrote about between the setting of the story and the dynamic of the wife and husband's relationship. I never thought about that until now, and it reveals another aspect of the story that readers might not have picked up on. I also love the last line of your post, and it certainly pertains to relationships and life overall.
ReplyDeleteYou stated that "Nick Adams was wounded in Italy while on the battlefield fighting, just like Hemingway was in real life while fighting with the Red Cross." I believe one does not simply "fight" with the Red Cross. He was just caught up in the action. But I do agree that it was a reference to Hemingway's service in the war.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the American couple was there for a good vacation as well. I agree with your interpretation of the events that occur in "Cat in the Rain", like how "the rain can lead to a storm, but it can also clear, leaving and open, blue sky." (But I don't think it would be a happy and clear blue sky for the husband later . .)
Great job!
As for your first point, you're completely right; he just got into some trouble while delivering his chocolate bars. I was half asleep while writing this, and too tired to proofread, leaving a lot of mistakes in it. I'll try to fix my blog post tonight.
DeleteAlso, for your second statement, I do agree that this story does feel more like it is leading up to a larger conflict between the husband and wife than a return to peace.
Thanks for commenting on my blog post!!!1!
Your interpretation was amazing! Nice job on the Italy connection; I totally missed that. I have a rather strange theory for you: what if the wife represents Ernest (for some reason) and George represents the nurse he was in love with? It's backwards, but the wife does want to explore and be youthful and energetic while the cynical George is too old for this tomfoolery and would prefer to read a book (in addition to not giving enough attention to the wife).
ReplyDeleteI like that you bring about the point in question that I had. I didn't quite understand what the themes in this story were, and one of my questions was "why are they in the hotel to begin with?" I ended up coming to the conclusion they were Americans, since they obviously didn't speak Italian very well, and that they were on vacation. I theorized that the relationship of the two wasn't the best, as you could probably see, wasn't the best. Opposites attract, but I don't think the two can stand each other much longer.
ReplyDeleteAlso, just as a side note, I appreciated your interpretations of the symbols, and then how they tied into the setting and plot.