An Analysis of The Cat(s) in Hemingway's "Cat in the Rain" Eduardo Almeida Cruz College

Introduction: A Brief Summary of Ernest Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain”

In Ernest Hemingway’s 1925 collection of short stories “In Our Time”, the author presents “Cat in the Rain”, a story about a young American couple in an Italian hotel while rain falls. Rain is a common element in many of Hemingway’s stories as it creates an important atmosphere, and “Cat in the Rain” is not an exception. In fact, it’s very relevant in order to arise feelings of sorrow and compassion for the cat underneath it. The wife fails on her search for said cat, and, in the end, the hotel maid is sent to take a cat to the young lady. “Cat in the Rain” is also a particularly remarkable work of literary art due, among other elements, to the abrupt way with which it finishes. It lets the reader confused on how many cats there really were. As we’ll see, there were most likely two different cats, although we may be missing the goal of the story by focusing solely on the number of felidae rather than on the story itself.

The Number of Cats in “Cat in the Rain”

The reader can safely assume the number of cats in “Cat in the Rain” to be two. Firstly, the maid follows the young lady in her brief quest to find the cat under the bright green table. They are both...