The Catbird Seat

James Thurber was primarily a humorist, and “The Catbird Seat” is a farce. Its mundane setting—a dull office where efficiency is seen as the master value—is in stark contrast to the machinations of the two main characters in their near burlesque (and largely one-sided) conflict. Much of the comedic effect stems from the degree to which Mrs. Barrows’s behavior offends Mr. Martin. He convinces himself that she deserves death for using folksy sayings, for suggesting that they have too many filing cabinets, and for bewitching Mr. Fitweiler at a party.

The central plot is Mr. Martin’s private war with Mrs. Barrows, and the story’s essential comic tone is demonstrated in the fact that only Mr. Martin knows that he is at war. Mrs. Barrows, the target of his plot, has no idea that she is Mr. Martin’s nemesis. In a different type of story, Mr. Martin’s actions would look sinister and not humorous, but his response to Mrs. Barrows’s ostensible invasion of the office is so ludicrously excessive that the narrative’s absurdity is immediately obvious.

From the beginning, Thurber sets up the conflict as a battle of the sexes.