The Feminist Lens: Analyzing Roupenian's 'Cat Person'

This essay offers a feminist interpretation of Kristen Roupenian's short story, 'Cat Person.' It examines the dynamics of the modern dating system through a feminist lens, focusing on the relationship between Margot and Robert. The analysis delves into the characters' expectations, communication styles, and the power imbalances inherent in their interactions. The essay highlights the suppression of Margot's voice and agency, reflecting feminist critiques of patriarchal control and societal expectations placed upon women. It explores themes of appearance versus reality, gender roles, and the complexities of sexual encounters, concluding that the story effectively uses the short story genre to explore contemporary issues from a feminist perspective. The essay references feminist literary criticism and analyzes specific scenes to support its arguments, ultimately portraying 'Cat Person' as a commentary on the challenges faced by women in contemporary dating.

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Interpretation of “Cat Person” from Feministic Perspective
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The genre of short stories have emerged as one of the most popular ones in the recent
times and it is a reflection of this particular fact many writers chose this particular cannon of
Literature to express themselves. It is generally seen that most of these short stories are
reflections of these writers on some of the contemporary issues which affects the society in
common. The short story “Cat Person” by Kristen Roupenian is one such piece of literary
work which tries to explore the hitherto unexplored side of the modern day dating systems
with subtle emphasis on the feministic perspective. The story “Cat Person” gives an account
of the present day dating system from the feministic perspective.
The short story under discussion here tries to show the short but unhappy affair which
Margot and Robert have and also sheds light on some of the gender roles which people from
both genders expect of one another (Roupenian). In short story, Margot has been depicted by
Kristen Roupenian as a typical teenager with romantic expectations of her own. To some
extent she can be said to a caring as well as thinking individual whereas Robert, on the other
hand, is being shown as a sensitive introvert who had to make an effort to live up to the
expectations of other people. Thus, in this particular respect, the short story can be seen as a
reflection of the author on the concept of “appearance and reality”. Both the characters
depicted in the short story have romantic expectations from each other however it is seen that
the expectations of the both of the characters from each other gets fulfilled only in bits and
pieces and thus both the characters get end up getting dissatisfied with the affair which they
have with each other. For example, on the very few occasions on which Margot and Robert
meet each other, Margot keeps on searching for the witty and interesting Robert who replies
to her text messages in the introvert and sensitive Robert who is spending time with her
(Roupenian). Robert, on the other hand, has created a mental image of an intelligent and
understanding person for Margot and during his meetings with her he always keeps on

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searching for that particular person within the girl who is with him. Thus, it would be apt to
say that the short under discussion here shows the pitfalls of the modern day dating system.
The short story “Cat Person” is redolent with the various precepts of the concept of
feminism. For example, one of the most common things which a reader is likely to come
across while reading the short story under discussion here is the suppressed language which
Margot uses when she is with Robert. Hélène Cixous is of the viewpoint that there is “an
essential connection between a woman’s body, whose sexual pleasure has been repressed and
denied expression and women’s writing” (Murfin). It is significant to note that in the short
story under discussion here Margot’s sexual pleasure indeed has been repressed as it is seen
that after reaching the house of Robert and seeing him naked she feels revulsion for him yet
she undergoes the whole ritual of sex with him. Furthermore, at the end of the short story she
is being called a “whore” by Robert for doing the thing which she really wanted to do
(Roupenian). In addition to this, during the entire course of the story it is found that it is
Margot who always has to take the initiative to carry on the conversation which they are
having and had to go out of her way to understand the feelings of Robert and the things which
might please him. Furthermore, during the entire course of the story Robert is seen to display
protective feelings towards Margot which can easily fall under the category of patriarchal
control. Furthermore, the initial lines of the story are also redolent with the concept of
feminism wherein Margot says that to get extra tips from her customers she has to take the
help of flirting “Flirting with her customers was a habit she’d picked up back when she
worked as a barista, and it helped with tips” (Roupenian). The sex scene is also redolent with
various images of feminism and leads the readers to thing Margot is just a sexual object to
Robert as he keeps on saying that “I always wanted to fuck a girl with nice tits” (Roupenian).
This sentence also makes the readers think whether it was really emotions which made

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Robert to have the affair or just the attractive and young body of Margot. Thus, a patriarchal
language is used through the course of the entire narrative.
To conclude, the genre of short stories provides a gateway to the writers wherein they
can express themselves in the most pertinent manner about the themes as well as topics which
they think are important to the people. The short story “Cat Person” is an example of one
such work where in the writer Kristen Roupenian not only uses the genre of short stories to
shed light on the present day dating system but at the same time to voice her opinions about
the concept of feminism.

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References
Murfin, Ross C. "What is Feminist Criticism?." Gulliver’s Travels (1996).
Roupenian, Kristen. "“Cat Person”." The New Yorker. N.p., 2018. Web. 12 July 2018.