Atkinson, Kate. "The Cat Lover".
Summary
- a fantasy story mingling a dystopian version of England swayed by strong winds and magic realism in describing a lonely woman's want for a child
- the protagonist: Heidi, the twin sister of Trudi from the former story, whom Heidi dislikes and perceives her rather as her doppelgänger than her twin
- Heidi is accompanied on her way home by a haggard tom cat, she must take it home, gives it the male name Gordon and feeds it up to the size of a grown-up tiger
- her relationships with men are influenced by her work at a male geriatric ward, she perceives men as helpless and toothless creatures, still she wants a baby of her own
- Gordon takes the status of Heidi's boyfriend, shares her bed with her; she tries kissing him in case he was a spell-bound man, but he does not prove to be one
- one morning Gordon is gone and later Heidi realises she is pregnant with several kitten and she thinks them beautiful
Basics
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Author
Atkinson, Kate. (b. 1951). -
Full Title
"The Cat Lover". -
First Published
In: Not the End of the World. Doubleday, 2002. -
Form
Short story.
Works Cited
Atkinson, Kate. "The Cat Lover". Not the End of the World. (2002). Black Swan, 2006.