Cat in the Rain - Ernest Hemingway (1925)

Extract

[...] It also faced the public garden and war monument. There were big palms and green benches in the public garden"). And this war monument is very important in this story because it shows a certain opposition between the American Couple and Italian people. This story takes place after WW1, a lot of Italian's people have perished during this major conflict and this monument is the sign of the great loss the nation is feeling. War is still fresh in memories and while the American couple is here in the context of vacation, Italian people come a long way to pay respect ("Italians came from a long way off to look up at the war monument."). [...]

[...] Her relationship with her husband doesn't seem to be very passionate or affectionate, they aren't close physically. She wants to be a princess, she wants to be a mother, she is craving for a long-lost femininity, femininity that her husband doesn't want to see, to acknowledge. He doesn't want her to have long hair, to express herself. you think it would be a good idea if I let my hair grow out?" she asked, looking at her profile again. George looked up and saw the back of her neck, clipped close like a boy's. [...]

[...] In there, there is another parallel between two points of view. And there is the kitty, the kitty that the American wife was going to get, to protect from the rain. A tiny kitty, hid under a table, trying to avoid water drops. When she arrives, he's gone, and she is disappointed, she comes back to her room and will remain sad and lonely. She wanted to purr it so bad wanted it so much," she said. don't know why I wanted it so much. [...]

[...] This place is grieving. At the same time, the American couple is not aware of this dramatic atmosphere, they are tourists, they are feeling bored because WW1 didn't hit them as hard as the Italian people. They didn't even acknowledge the War monument. In the second part, we have the American wife. She's an unnamed lady, whose husband is "George". It's a central character. We don't know the purpose of their vacation (maybe a honeymoon?) but George doesn't seem very interested at the moment. [...]

[...] She is the centre of social interaction. Her husband does not care about her. He is on the bed, trying to read, he doesn't pay attention when she speaks or when he does, it is when he tells her to shut up shut up and get something to read," George said. He was reading again."). He is always reading, he is in HIS world, and she's just a burden, she annoys him. Unlike the hotelkeeper who treats her with respect and gallantry. [...]