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Lots of things get passed around the backrooms of the world wide web — memes, 280-character jokes, lots and lots of videos of animals doing various things.
Generally, 7,201-word pieces of literary fiction don't make the list.
Cat Person, published online by the New Yorker a few days ago, has managed to capture the zeitgeist and go truly viral.
Just look at the search data:
And it's generated a huge amount of discussion on, well, the things we are all currently discussing, including, but not limited to:
- Consent
- Fat-shaming
- Objectification
- Bad sex
- What constitutes (capital-L) Literature
First off, what is Cat Person?
It's a short story by the American writer Kristen Roupenian.
It's a fairly straight-forward piece of fiction, told in a linear fashion. Margot, a 20-year-old university student, meets a guy, flirts with him, goes on a date with him, goes home with him, has some objectively awkward sex with him — and, throughout all of this, questions her feelings and his motivations.
The guy is Robert, about whom we learn little, other than that he has a beard, is older than her, and has two cats.
The story unfolds from Margot's perspective — we get her interior monologue, in detail, as she initially chats via text message, and tries to imagine his thoughts and impressions of her.
But there's an undercurrent of nastiness, and misogyny, and difficult power dynamics, and the quiet terror of 21st century dating for women.
"Before five minutes had gone by, she became wildly uncomfortable, and, as they got on the highway, it occurred to her that he could take her someplace and rape and murder her," Roupenian writes. "She hardly knew anything about him, after all."
By the final few words — text messages from Robert, but we won't spoil it for you — it's unclear who you're supposed to like and dislike.
And so the discussion about that, and so many other things, is sparked.
Why has it gone viral?
Several reasons, but some argue the story has tapped into a deeper discussion around how men and women interact, romantically and otherwise, in a post-Weinstein world.
"I think it encapsulates a lot of the arguments around the #MeToo movement and the Harvey Weinstein stuff, and the way that men and women are renegotiating, or rediscovering, a lot of boundaries," Australian novelist and columnist Brigid Delaney told RN Drive.
Brisbane author and journalist Susan Johnson said that while it was odd for a piece of literary fiction to go viral — "the last time anyone got hot under the collar about fiction was … er, never" — Roupenian's story had hit the zeitgeist.
"Cat Person has done this at just the right #MeToo moment," she said.
"But it's hit the sweet spot because it's so wonderfully well-written."
In the sex scene — probably the guts of the piece — Margot realises, upon seeing Robert's naked belly, that she is no longer comfortable with what's occurring — but decides it's too late to back out.
Roupenian writes:
"It wasn't that she was scared he would try to force her to do something against her will, but that insisting that they stop now, after everything she'd done to push this forward, would make her seem spoiled and capricious, as if she'd ordered something at a restaurant and then, once the food arrived, had changed her mind and sent it back."
In an interview, Roupenian said that inability to say no at that point "speaks to the way that many women, especially young women, move through the world: not making people angry, taking responsibility for other people's emotions, working extremely hard to keep everyone around them happy".
Delaney suggested this particular feeling had resonated with female readers.
"I think a lot of women have these bad dates, or bad sex, and they don't necessarily talk about it — it just gets shoved in the bottom drawer with all the other bad experiences, because of this politeness thing."
Has there been some backlash?
Naturally.
The sex scene includes a moment in which Margot sees Robert's "belly thick and soft and covered with hair" and "recoil[s]". Some critics have argued it's a normalisation of what body types are considered beautiful.
For Delaney, the scene further illustrates the cultural moment and the current discussions around sexual harassment and abuse of power.
"[Men] are saying that she was cruel to the guy, that she was a lot younger than him, and therefore she had the power in the relationship," Delaney said.
"And women are saying they have often put up with bad sex or bad dates just out of politeness and they've never let the guy know.
"So, it's one of those cultural moments that is being exposed — this time in a New Yorker short story."
Cat Person has also started a discussion about women in fiction
Literary fiction, some argue, is full of the interior monologues of white dudes — Philip Roth, John Updike, Martin Amis, etc, etc — while so much female-centric writing is too often disregarded as "chic-lit" or overly confessional.
"I agree with critiques that people are treating it as memoir," Australian novelist Krissy Kneen said.
"It is so frustrating that the work of women and men is read so differently."
Johnson said: "I can't help but think that some of the criticisms are to do with the story being about female consciousness — white, middle-class female consciousness.
"Philip Roth is allowed his subject — his first-person, sometimes slangy male consciousness — Richard Flanagan and Tim Winton are allowed their subjects, but there is still a reluctance to bestow the word 'literature' on subjective female 'first-person', 'confessional' writing.
"But I'm calling it: Kristen Roupenian has written a fine short story to add to the world's literature."
So, Cat Person has sparked a deep, complicated — and timely — discussion.
At the end of the day, let us all rejoice in the fact that — despite all manner of salacious content on the internet — a weighty piece of literary fiction in a very toffy magazine got the general public talking about important issues.
2017, huh?
Topics: fiction, books-literature, arts-and-entertainment, popular-culture, united-states
First posted