The analysis of ‘‘Cat in the Rain“ by Ernest Hemingway

A short story “Cat in the Rain” was first published in 1925 as a part of a story collection In Our Time. The author wrote the story while living in Paris. However, the story’s setting in small costal Italian town hints to the influence of Hemingway’s time in Italy as a Red Cross worker during World War I.

At the first sight the story is just a short excerpt from the life of an ordinary couple. The story is told by the omniscient narrator. He is at the distance from the characters, and does not dwell into their feelings and emotions. All he does is describe what characters do and say. The language is very simple, “clean”, and most of the sentences are short. After the story progresses we realize, that every word and every image or symbol is significant to the overall effect of the story. Hemingway’s commitment to stay on the surface of things points out to “tip-of-the-iceberg” style of writing.

Talking about the setting of a story, it takes place in a hotel in a small Italian town near the sea. The fact that the couple are Americans suggests that they came here to spend their holidays. Their room is described as the one with a nice view. It faced the sea, the war monument, and the public garden with “big palms and green benches“. However, the weather conditions are not nice at all. It rains heavily, which is the opposite of typical sunny image of Italy. Weather conditions hint that there is something wrong or unpleasant going on between the characters. The weather also reflects the inner state of the American wife, her lack of satisfaction with life and her desire to change.