of it was wet and silent It was raining Water stood in pools The square was empty A waiter stood alone in the doorway The rain makes the whole world look cold and far away The American wife stands at the window She looks outside because she has nothing else to do The setting shows her loneliness before she even speaks The Wife s Emotional Loneliness The American wife feels lonely even though her husband George is with her She sees a cat hiding under a wet green table She says nbsp I m going down and get that kitty But George her husband only says Don t get wet He does not look at her face or ask about her feelings He keeps reading in bed Later when she asks if she should grow her hair long he says he likes it the way it is She answers she gets so tired of looking like a boy But George goes back to his book At one point he even says nbsp Oh shut up and get something to read nbsp He cannot understand her heart She is married but she feels alone The hotel-keepers' Response When the American wife goes downstairs the hotel-keeper stands up and bows She tells him that it is raining He gently tells her that yes the weather is very bad She likes his face his hands and his serious way of listening The narrator says the nbsp Padrone made her feel very small and at the same time really important nbsp A stranger not her husband gives her respect This moment shows what she is missing at home It also shows that she is hungry for care The Cat - Symbol of Her Loneliness The cat she sees under the table is small and helpless The cat was trying to make her body very small so the rain would not fall on her The American wife feels the same way inside She says nbsp Oh I wanted it so much I wanted that poor kitty nbsp She wants the cat because she wants love softness and peace The cat stands for comfort When the cat disappears her disappointment shows her deep sadness No one tries to understand her pain Long List of Wishes - Symbol of Her Empty Heart Back in the room she looks into the mirror She talks about what she wants She says nbsp I want to have a kitty to sit on my lap nbsp She also says that she wants to eat at a table with her own silver things and have candles She wants long hair She wants new clothes Her long list shows how empty she feels These are not small wishes These are signs of a lonely woman who wants to feel alive But George keeps reading He does not listen In the end the maid brings a tortoise-shell cat from the padrone A stranger again gives her what she needs Cat in the Rain shows that loneliness can live inside a marriage The American wife feels unseen and unheard The rainy setting the distant husband the lost cat and the final gift all show her pain Hemingway teaches that loneliness is not about being alone It is about not being understood