An old woman, a cat and a chronic problem
In her short story, “An Old Woman and Her Cat”, Doris Lessing portrays the ongoing struggle the poor face with the rich. This is true in both the story and in reality.
In the story, Hetty, the main character, is an older woman whose husband has died and whose children have grown, moved, and cut all ties. All alone, Hetty finds a cat which she names Tibby, and takes it in to live with her. After officials come and warn Hetty that Tibby will have to be destroyed, she goes through a time of bad luck. The author tells us, “She had had flu; had not been able to earn money, had found it hard to get out for her pension, had run into debt” (1013). Because of her lack of money, Hetty owes a lot of back rent and has to move to a one-room home in the slums.
Many homeless people start out as Hetty did. They have homes, and then due to illness or unemployment, they make financial mistakes and are forced to leave their homes. The poor are forced to make decisions about whether they will eat or have hot water; whether they will buy a coat or pay for rent. Though there may be some forgiving tenants, most care only about getting their money, not giving second chances to the less fortunate.
Hetty still has a chance to provide for herself by claiming her pension, but “she was frightened to go near [them] to reestablish pension rights and her identity, because of the arrears of rent she had left behind, and because of the stolen television set” (1014). Hetty is willing to give up her money and her identity because of her fear of the government and what they will do to punish her for her mistakes.
Many of the homeless are willing to do the same as Hetty did and leave things behind because they fear the “rich,” and the power and control they can have on their lives.
The street that Hetty lives on is being bought for improvements by the middle class. Hetty is given a notice that her little community is at an end, and she has four weeks to find somewhere else to live. This is a perfect example of the poor versus the rich. In America, housing projects are bought out all the time and turned into something more profitable. There is no thought about where the tenants, most of whom can barely afford where they were living, can go. With more and more housing projects being torn down, the poor are being left to live on the streets.
Hetty’s eviction is put on hold because of the increasing attention her street is getting from a pending municipal election. As a result of the attention and speeches given by councilmen and churchmen, the victims can no longer be ignored. Hetty is visited by a social worker and a rehousing officer, and is given the offer to reclaim her pension and move to a “home” run by the council.
This is another problem in America: the poor are used as pawns by elective officials and those seeking office. They are given false hope through false promises that if elected, these officials will do everything they can to fix the problem. They create these “homes,” but do not tell of their true intentions.
Hetty is told that when she comes to the home she can only bring some clothes and a few photographs. For a warm place to sleep and food to eat, Hetty would have to give up all her belongings including her cat that she has bonded with. Hetty has already given up so much for these people and is not willing to give up what little identity she has left. She finds a room in an abandoned home and lives there with Tibby until she dies from cold and malnutrition.
Homelessness is a major problem in America. New Orleans has been the center of attention since Katrina. The government has been blamed for selling out housing projects to make way for better things. Some housing projects that were not even damaged by Katrina are being sold. The residents of these housing projects are being forced from their homes and left to fend for themselves.
Cities try to make themselves look better by creating shelters for the homeless but just like the “homes” in the story, the homeless can not bring anything with them. What some people consider junk, the homeless consider valuable. Most homeless carry around belongings such as blankets, pots and pans, and utensils. The shelters tell the homeless that in order to sleep there, they have to leave their belongings behind. Just as Hetty did, many of these people will also choose freezing pavement to sleep on in order to keep what little identity they have left.
Lessing, Doris. “An Old Woman and Her Cat.” The Longman Anthology of Women’s
Literature. Ed. Mary K DeShazer. New York: Longman, 2001. 1010-1021
The Sleepy Weasel ● Vol. 12 (2007-2008)