The story takes place in a hotel in Italy on a raining day. The American woman, as the writer describes her, was looking through the window when she saw a cat outside under a table. She felt sad about the cat being outside in the rain. The American woman compared her life with the cat. She thinks "poor Kitty" out in the rain and no one can take care of him. The husband offered to go outside and get the cat but she decided to get it on her own. The lady walked outside to get the cat. She passed by the front desk, the hotel-keeper told her that it was very bad weather, but she still wanted to get the cat. She thought the hotel-keeper was so nice to her that when the maid came with the umbrella she assumed that the hotel-keeper sent the maid for her not to get wet. She finally gets to where the cat was, but he was no longer there. She felt disappointed and went back to her room. I chose this story because I compare myself with her situation; she wants someone that cares for her. When she looked at the cat out in the rain, it seems to me that she also felt lonely just like the cat.
The relationship between this couple seems to be characterized by their unwillingness to give each other full attention. Early in the story, Hemingway shows us that she can perceive deeply, and appreciate another person. It takes six sentences to tell all the things she likes about the hotel-keeper. However, the times – only twice – her husband gives her positive attention, both times she doesn't respond at all. George the husband ask if she got the cat she replies no. She sat down and started thinking about how much she wanted the "poor Kitty." She is so emotional that she realized she doesn't have the life she wants, the attention and her feelings. There is no one to talk about it with, because George is reading. She started speaking out loud saying things like she's tire of looking like a boy, she want her own space, she also want her hair to be long and brushed in front of the mirror.