"Cat Person" by Kristen Roupenian

[Nick B]

Is it being interpreted this way, in the wider world? As you then point out, neither character really comes across as less bad than the other.

I have no idea, and would hope not. What I said, was if it had played to a more dramatic end (like him raping, beating or killing her) then it would have fed into that theme.

 

[HareBrain]

What I said, was if it had played to a more dramatic end (like him raping, beating or killing her) then it would have fed into that theme

So you did, sorry.

 

[Toby Frost]

The question I have with this story, and similar ones, and actually the Weinstein-type allegations, is basically scale. Do most men act like this? Would they like to get away with acting like this? Is the character in the story supposed to represent more than one person? Without the obvious satirical edge of something like The Stepford Wives, it's hard to say.

Here are the author's views on the story. Clearly she meant for readers to put their own interpretation on large amounts of it - but whether she left it open to interpretation to the right degree, I don't know. Kristen Roupenian on the Self-Deceptions of Dating

 

[Nick B]

Interesting to read the authors views, and glad that I felt somewhere similar to where she was coming from. Though, I still find both characters totally unsympathetic and unhealthy.

 

[Alexa]

She didn't say anything about the title or the cats we were supposed to see in Robert's house. This makes me think we've got it all wrong. The title may suggest our characters have something in common with cats. They are both independent, lonely, curious, etc.

 

[HareBrain]

Is the character in the story supposed to represent more than one person?

I'd say not. From the author interview, it's clear she sees Margot (who isn't presented as being admirable, innocent, nor a victim) as very much an individual, and there's nothing to suggest she doesn't see Robert the same way. Nor is Robert presented as being in anything like the same league as those people in recent headlines, in my opinion. Up until the very last line, he's not really any less sympathetic than her, as the author herself says.