Imagery

• Definition: Imagery uses words that appeal to the senses and create vivid pictures in the reader’s mind.
• Example: “Water stood in pools on the gravel paths. The sea broke in a long line in the rain.”
• Explanation: The wet garden, dripping palm trees, and grey sea create a vivid picture of a depressing, rainy day. The scene mirrors the wife’s inner sadness.
• Effect: This imagery strengthens the tone of loneliness and helps readers feel the wife’s emotional environment.

Repetition

• Definition: Repetition is the repeated use of words or phrases for emphasis.
• Example: “I want a cat. I want a cat. I want a cat now.”
• Explanation: The repeated words show the intensity of her longing. It is not just a wish for a pet; it is a deep emotional cry for affection.
• Effect: Repetition exposes her suppressed desires and highlights her emotional desperation.

Symbolism / Symbols

• Definition: A symbol is a literary device where an object, action, or situation represents a deeper emotional or psychological meaning. In “Cat in the Rain,” Ernest Hemingway uses symbols to show loneliness, desire, emotional starvation, and the search for identity.
• The Cat: Symbol of the wife’s emotional desires. The cat is the central symbol. It represents comfort, tenderness, motherhood, identity, and her longing for love. The wet, helpless cat reflects her own emotional state. Just as the cat wants shelter, she wants affection and importance.
• The Rain: Symbol of sadness, isolation, and emotional coldness. Rain falls throughout the story. It creates a mood of gloom and reflects the wife's mental state. Her life and marriage feel as cold and depressing as the rain.
• The Hotel-Keeper: Symbol of care, respect, and emotional fulfillment. The hotel-keeper bows to the wife, listens to her, and sends a maid with an umbrella. At the end, he even sends her a cat. He symbolizes the kindness and attention she craves.
• The War Monument: Symbol of lifelessness and emotional stagnation. The war monument is cold, hard, bronze, unmoving. It symbolizes the wife's frozen marriage, where nothing grows or changes.