Life through Images

In the short story Hairball, by Margaret Atwood, there are many images and symbols that seemed to help describe the qualities of the characters, but I wanted to analyze names and felines in greater depth.

The symbol that kept appearing repeatedly over the course of the story was the different names. Kat started her name as Katherine, but to her, that name was too girly and frilly, like the ruffle skirts her mother used to dress her in. She didn’t change her name then though because she didn’t resist her mother or question her. She could characterize herself because of her mother. In high school the change started occurring when she shortened her name to Kathy. This name did not suit her either; it was too bubbly and conforming, which was something she was working hard to achieve, but with no luck. She was trying too hard to make others accept her that she started losing herself. Kathy wasn’t a conformist and so she moved from that life to England. Kat was her name through the course of the section that the reader entered into, and it sounds sharp and somewhat harsh, which is what the reader characterizes her as. Kat changed her name when she journeyed to England where she was working constantly trying to achieve success as a woman in a man’s world. This was a constant pressure that forced her to be sharp and rigid, like her name.  When she signs the note to Gerald though, the name is shortened once again, to merely the letter K. The K was printed in block letters, like it was a fact. I perceive this to mean that she was starting to understand herself more than she had in decades. Cursive writing would have seemed whimsical, and Kat has proved to the reader she is anything but. By the end of the story, our main character exclaimed herself to be nameless. This seems to reflect on how she’s starting over. The life she had been living was not what she wanted for herself, and starting over with a new name would help give her a new start. This can also be seen as to why she gave Hairball, her most prized possession up; for a fresh start.  Gerald’s name also changes thought-out the course of the story too. At first it was Gerald, a sweet and charming man, and then it changed to Ger. Ger sounds more like a man that is willing to take risks, the complete opposite of the reader’s first impression of him. Ger was the name that had the affair, while Gerald was the name with a devoted wife, strong family, and his own business. The shorter the name became, the more complications Kat was going through in her life. Names can help define a person, and not entirely knowing your name can symbolize not completely knowing yourself.

The feline references that also kept appearing help describe Kat. Kat had to fight for Felice to be the name of the magazine title, which helps characterize her personality. Cats are notoriously known for being independent creatures that can survive with very little assistance. Unlike their pet counterparts the dog, they don’t need constant attention and they most certainly do not stay in one place for long. Kat was always travelling to new places because she got bored with the places she was staying in. She bounded from man to man without seemingly to need their individual love. For most women, they need some sort of reassurance that the man they are with at the time had some sort of feelings for her, but Kat did not need these affections from men, or so she thought. Although cats do not need constant care, they still require humans to feed them and offer them shelter. Kat couldn’t keep the life she was living and that is why she confided in Gerald. After all that he put her through, she didn’t leave him. He was the person that helped support her for a long time; not financially but emotionally. When Gerald started turning into Ger though, Kat saw that she created a monster. All the men she was with, drained something from her and she never seemed to understand that they were simply using her for her body. She knew she deserved better but never truely got out of a "relationship" by herself. Kat wanted to believe she was more independent than she actually was. Kat wanted to believe she was as independent as a cat, but she still needed some sort of love to survive.

The imagery throughout the course of the story helps give small amounts of insight into the characters personality, even when they seemed to be struggling to understand themselves as well. In the end I believe that Kat started to learn more about herself and find her true way as soon as she sent Hairball and let go. She started becoming the independent cat that she characterized herself to be, but never fully got to.