Cat Person

Dialogue is crucial, as it lets readers assess Robert independently of Margot. Robert is filtered through Margot’s perceptions of and fantasies about him. However, Robert’s verbal interactions with Margot show the way he really is and how he views her. Much of his dialogue is very condescending and exploits her relative youth. Margot feels like she has to keep up with him. Their dialogue displays their power differential, even as Margot makes excuses for the patronizing things that Robert says—for example, how he makes fun of her for living in a dorm room even though he knows she goes to college. The story’s dialogue displays how his condescension is based on insecurity, which suggests why Robert pursues the much younger Margot instead of women his own age.

Margot continually characterizes Robert as bestial: She likens him to a horse or a bear. This is almost the reverse of personification or anthropomorphizing, in which a nonhuman animal or object is given human attributes. Margot characterizes Robert in this way because she believes she has the upper hand in the relationship. She adheres to the patriarchal “Lolita”