1. Rowe
LiteraryStudies
Fall 2008
Garlitos
StephenMillhauser–“Cat ‘n’mouse”
Ostensiblythe catisfoil tomouse,buttheirrelationshipisfarmore personal andimmediate;
theirconflictisbothcontemporaryandancient,andiscompletelydependent uponthe presence –
perhapsevenonthe continuationof establishedroles- of the other. Withoutthisvery necessary conflict
of predatortoprey, a mutual reliance basednotonsurvival (351),buton a level of meaningand
purpose,there canbe no tension. Notensionmeansnostory:curtains (356). The mouse knowsthis,
and is“deeplybored,”(352) but the cat is lessagile of imagination,anddespite fleetingthoughtsof
admirationforthe mouse’selegance (351) and competence,isconsumed with“rage”and“savagery“
(351). Theybothhave veryreal rolesto play,andtheiradherence tothe rulesof theirgame are
noteworthy,eachadheringtothe schedule andtone of the other’sdesigns:the mouse bicyclesalong
cat-customizedpathtosome cheese (350),rumbaswiththe cat dressedasladymouse (350),and re-rigs
the booby-trappedmouse (351) andguillotine (354);the cat laborsunderthe explosive seductionof a
robo-cat(351) and iselectrifiedandthenpeltedwithhail (353) – fantasticdramaticironyhere inthe
golfersinthe clouds(cartoonwithinacartoon),punishedbyhisownmanufacturedstorms. Againand
again,the cat punisheshimself bygoingagainstthe mouse,creating the processof hisownpainand
suffering,enculturatedattitudesattheir mostreactive.
While the cat doesbrieflywonderif theycouldn’t“live peacefullytogether,”(351) he burns
anewat the mouse’s“indifference”(351) to him, so evidentinthe mouse’sreadyevasionof his

2. ludicrouslyconvolutedplots. The mouse triestoencourage the catto considerarmistice,seeninthe
reworkingof traps to underscore hismasteryof all thatguidesthe cat, especially inthe lifting“openthe
headof hisdouble”(351) and insertingdynamite;he meanstoblow the cat’smind. But the cat is
enragedbythe thoughtof the mouse “notthink[ing] abouthimatall;”(351) his “intimidation”of the
mouse’s“self-assurance”(351) and savoirfaire grindsthe poison of “a successionof unspeakable
humiliations”(353) everdeeper. The catdoes not getwise - thoughit mightbe saidthat he got smart -
and enterswith“achalkboarderaser1
”(355) anderasesthe mouse fromeverythingbuthimself;but
here’sthe rub: Mouse inhand,he “hesitates”(356) and realizestoolate hisdependence uponthe
mouse forexistence andmeaning,he “needsthe mouse”(356). In that spanof microsecond,asstars
are bornand die inthe teethof oblivion(356),we can see the pointlessnessof bullying,the viciousand
randomevilsof a slavishandhateful nature,andthe endof the worldspelledoutinthe insecuritiesof
our hearts;we see as well ourreliance uponconflictagainstwhichtostrainanddefine ourselves. In
veryreal ways,we are revealedandrelieved,like charactersinastory andcharacters uponthe page,
not uponour shapes,butthe shape of the worlduponus. We are the cat and the mouse,forever bound
betweenpotentialandkineticenergies, splittingourselvesinhalf andbeingunable tosplitourselvesat
all.
1 Tangential note: this reminds me of a similar conceptstaged in the animation sequence “Animator vs.
Animation,” which can be seen @: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/animator