Mr. Mistoffelees

Because magic is one of its principal themes, objects associated with magic tricks form an important motif in the poem. Mr. Mistoffelees is described as a cat who “can pick any card from a pack, / He is equally cunning with dice” (Lines 27-28). On one level, this simply means Mr. Mistoffelees can perform tricks of pulling out a card from a deck or throwing or chasing dice. At another, the speaker compares the car to a magician performing a card- or a dice-based trick—both of which are based on probability. Through the use of objects associated with magic tricks, the poet establishes that Mr. Mistoffelees’s conjuring act is every bit as sophisticated and delightful as a show by any expert magician. The magical objects also allude to the idea that all of life is an entertainment or a magic show.

Mr. Mistoffelees is described as “black/ From his ears to the tip of his tail (Lines 23-24). In many traditions, including the Egyptian and the Greek, black cats are associated with supernatural elements, witchcraft, and sorcery. In Greek mythology, Hecate—the goddess of magic—has a black cat as a pet and an spirit guide. Black cats came to be associated with evil in medieval Europe: sometimes called manifestations of Satan, and sometimes associated with witches.