I recently finished reading James M. Cain's "The Postman
Always Rings=20
Twice" and was struck by the frequent appearance of cats in
the story.
I wondered about this and pondered it for several days.
Finally, I came=20
up with a correlation between cats and the two main
characters-- Cora=20
and Frank-- which I would like to try out on you all... just
to see if=20
my idea doesn't sound too off course. Here it is. Let me know
what you=20
think, or if I have read this all wrong:
Frank and Cora maintain a very violent, animalistic sexual
relationship=20
throughout the course of the novel. They are particularly
compared to=20
cats--especially Cora, who is called a "hell cat"--which
makes for a=20
very interesting analogy. =20
Cats, as animals, have sex out of pure instinct for the
purpose of=20
breeding. During their "heat," the female of the species is
driven by=20
and extreme, nearly frantic desire to have sex. They also
emit a=20
hormone which the male smells and reacts to. The act of
copulation for=20
a cat is also very violent. It involves a great deal of
scratching,=20
clawing and biting while the male tries to subdue the female
so they can=20
mate. She fights him, despite the fact that she actually
wants to mate=20
to slack the urge of frenzy her "heat" has caused. Compare
this to the=20
relationship of Cora and Frank. It is equally as violent.
Cora always=20
wants Frank to hit or bite her before and during intercourse.
It is as=20
if he has to subdue her as the male cat must subdue his mate.
Cora also=20
appears to be turned on by violence, such as the murder of
her husband=20
and Frank=92s abuse of her own body. When she is turned on,
it in turn=20
arouses Frank, like the hormones of the female cat do for the
male. =20
Furthermore, Frank and Cora are driven by lust, just as cats
are driven=20
by instinct-- neither consider affection as a reason for
sex.
Debbie Chilson
dlchilson@hotmail.com
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