Female? An elder, wiser Catwoman?

I've only seen one question on here asking whether Female, played by Ruby Dee, was also a cat person but there wasn't much discussion about it. So I'll give my analysis.

As I've watched this as an adult, I again wondered whether she was in fact a cat woman but simply older, menopausal and no longer had the desires like the young ones, so perhaps watched over and provided guidance to them? I think after all these years, I've finally picked up on the clues.

Paul said she kept him out of trouble which is typically what our elders do. I've also heard of the old African American folktale called Catskinella and immediately thought about her character. Was her character drawn from Catskinella? Was she the mama cat? The matriarch of some sort? Or perhaps the whole movie was based off of Catskinella?

Another clue was the history of her name. When abandoned animals are found, the first thing we do is determine whether it's male or female. We typically wait awhile before naming the animal to see what fits them. This isn't done with human babies, we typically name them right away. So I thought that was interesting. Not to mention, Female noted, she was orphaned too. Paul and Irena were also orphaned.

I'd be hard pressed to believe all those years Paul spent with Female, he wouldn't have attacked her or tried to kill her. Humans who work with wild animals have a firm understanding it's still a wild animal and is subject to act upon it's animal instinct no matter how familiar you are to them. This also adds a clue to her being a cat person.

In the beginning, you see a cloaked woman or man who clearly has some type of important position to the cat people, like an elder, priest etc. Then as Danelle Hand's character morphs into Irena, we're in modern times. But take note of Female's head wrap. In modern times, she wouldn't be able to walk around in a cloak without drawing attention but perhaps a head wrap would signify some importance just like the "mi hermana" woman who also had a head wrap on. Female and the Mi Hermana woman also are wearing the same black pearl necklace.

Notice right after the the scene where Paul is shot in the hotel room, Female is watching a cartoon with cats? The taller/older cat seems to be instructing/teaching the shorter/younger cat, which at that very moment is what Female is doing with Irena. There is even one point during the cartoon, the older cat is on the screen alone and appears to look up at Irena then over to Female as if saying......"listen to mama, she always knows". I thought that was clever of the director and I'm sure lots of people missed that. Also, in this same scene, take note that Female is dressed in mostly black with a red blouse. (Red probably signifying the kills she's made in her life plus giving ode to her ancient wisdom and power....remember the movie opens in red). Seems the cat people are always wearing black with the exception of Irena, since she's still virginal. There's a correlation there with the cloaked person in the beginning leading (not forcing, like the first girl was forced) the virgin cat girl into the cave with the panther....likely her brother and to get them acquainted since they'll be mating partners. Notice the girl (Danelle Hand) is naked underneath and wearing virginal white. Irena was also naked a lot and I think this gives us a clue, if and only if we make the connection between the opening characters and the main characters. Seems the opening is quite confusing to people, but that's for another thread......but just note the correlation from ancient to modern times. Times have changed but they still work the exact same and an elder cat person is always needed to guide the young ones through the world, guide them to each other and to provide sacrifices for them until they finally understand it all.

Also, all the cat people have accents. Female is no exception! Probably the biggest clue! And last but not least.....the fence that separates them when Female is jailed. A metaphor tying the caged big cats in the zoo to the cats in human form separated not by a zoo cage but a prison. Note both are wearing gray and this time, Irena is wearing a red blouse underneath. A transformation for both cat ladies has occurred.

I've wondered why the director would be so indirect about whether or not Female was a Catwoman. Then it dawned on me. She's an elder!! We don't see our elders as once having the same desires and faults younger people have. To us, they are wise and have always been wise. When we hear about their youth, especially regarding sex, we're shocked and often in denial. We don't wanna see or hear that. We wanna see them as keepers of wisdom and morality so it would make sense to present Female as exactly how we view elders!

Just thought I'd share my analysis as well as see what others had to say.

I think the remake of Cat People was a brilliant movie and unfortunately ahead of it's time which is why it didn't do well in America.