Cat in the Rain

Basically, this short story by Ernest Hemingway is about an American couple vacationing in Italy, the second romantic country of the world after France (well in my opinion). It is raining and the wife sees a cat in the rain and wants to protect it from the rain, which is odd because usually children are the one sensitive and naÐ"Їve enough to want to protect animals from such a thing as the rain since it is not harmful to animals. Only human beings get a cold when standing out in the rain not animals! Her husband, laying on the bed reading, makes a poor less attempt to offer his help which can be interpreted as neglect. He tells her (line 9):" I'll do it" still lying on the bed. She finally goes by herself and returns unsuccessful. But fortunately, at the end, the maid brings her the cat. Her quest to save the cat from the rain expresses how dull is her life and with the disinterested attitude that her husband shows, we can conclude that the American wife is a victim of neglect and only looked for the cat as a form of fulfillment.

It is clear that the couple is having marital problems; the first thing that shows it is the contrast that Hemingway put in the introduction. There is a description of the sea that can be seen from the hotel room with big palm trees (line 2): "In the good weather there was always an artist with his easel. Artists liked the way the palms grew and the bright colors of the hotels facing the gardens and the sea." So here it is a description of a sunny weather then Hemingway tells us that it is raining (l. 4): "It was raining. The rain dripped from the palm trees." We can thus conclude that it was probably something that Hemingway did on purpose, he wanted us maybe to think that at the beginning they were a happy couple, at the shiniest stage of their love then came the rain which symbolizes the cold, unhappinessÐ'...

Another proof of the neglect is that they are supposed to be enjoying their stay since they are vacationing in a romantic country but instead of that the husband does not seem to be willing to make any effort, he is just lying in bed reading a book. Since her husband does not give her much attention, the wife looks for it in other places; not only from the cat but also from the hotel owner who seems to like her and look for her well-being (l.16): "She liked the way he wanted to serve her." By offering her to help her by sending the maid with an umbrella "The padrone made her feel very small and at the same time really important. She had a momentary feeling of being of supreme importance." (l.33) The fact that she felt important just because the hotel owner was doing his job by being a good manager shows again the lack of attention and affection she gets from her husband. When one is neglected, one often looks for comfort and attention elsewhere.

One the other hand, she can be a demanding wife, one always seeking attention and maybe that us why her husband does not care anymore because he knows how she is. Or maybe she is just childish or a very young woman (we do not know her age) so perhaps she married a man who is already grown and she is not. When she comes back in the room,