Regionalism, Naturalism, Realism, and Modernism -- Regionalism, Naturalism, Realism and Modernism

Review of "Cat in the Rain" by Ernest Hemingway and "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway and the Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

Cat in the Rain and The Story of an Hour are short and straightforward pieces of literary work. The titles apparently leave little to imagination behind the concept of the stories, but in reality there is something important going on within these stories.

Hashemi and Ahmadi (2010) comment that Cat in the Rain is the story of an American couple who are on holiday in Italy. It is centered on a young female fixating on a cat trapped in the drizzle. Her husband, in contrast, is not in the least inclined to accede to her wish. The title has been mysterious; we are led to ask ourselves, just why this cat has been so particularly significant to the American lady who sees it via her window in the hotel room. What is it about the stance of the cat, hunching beneath a table in a drizzle, which entices this woman to desire it? And how is this scene connected to this...

The woman faces mixed emotions; on one hand, she will miss her husband but on the other hand, she feels that she will be free. As with a number of popular short tales, though, the account does not finish quietly; however, forms a climactic reversal when her 'dead' husband reappears and instead, she dies of a heart attack, thus leading to the making of the title.
Themes

Cat in the Rain appears to have quite a number of themes. Hashemi and Ahmadi (2010) point out that one of the themes is the loneliness and isolation of the American wife, which make her wanting the cat. This solitude could also be the result of the age difference between the couple; we are told that the wife is much younger. Decadence and relationship problems also play a part where we see the husband busy reading and ignoring the sadness…