MovieChat Forums > Gloria (2013) Discussion > About the cat... (spoiler)

About the cat... (spoiler)

posted 10 years ago by Anaheim92807
6 replies | jump to latest

I understand from Gloria's maid's tale that cats supposedly were created on Noah's Ark by a lion. They were created to curb the infestation of mice on the ship and "to bring order into the world." However, I couldn't see how Gloria's neighbor's cat fit in. First of all, it sure was an ugly hairless thing. Secondly, how did it keep getting into her apt.? I guess at the end when she feeds the cat it shows that she's come to accept "order" back in her life? And like a cat with 9 lives, she's a survivor and a new person. The scene with her lying nude on her bed with the cat I guess shows her at peace with her life. The friend that I saw the movie with said that the cat was actually the invisible woman that the neighbor kept yelling at in earlier scenes and that was why the cat kept running away. Not too sure about that one. Any other interpretations out there?

[–] IMDB_Vits 10 years ago

As I was watching the movie, I knew the cat had an owner. That race are never street cats. So I was expecting a twist. There wasn't really one. Anyway, she has a good explanation (skip to 03:48):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K6v12_i2hQ

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] zwot 10 years ago

I suspect the housekeeper was letting the cat into Gloria's apartment, but that's just a guess. The important thing is that the cat came to Gloria the same way Rodolfo left Gloria: mysteriously and unexpected. This symbolic parallel was made clear (in retrospect) when Gloria was surprised to see the cat and said she didn't know how it kept getting into her apartment.

Also, the cat came to Gloria presumably to get relief from it's troublesome owner, just like Rodolfo sought relief from his troublesome family. Gloria constantly overhears the cat's owner from the apartment above, just like she constantly overhears Rodolfo's phone conversations with his family. But only once does she meet each third party in person. All these parallels make it clear that we are to consider Rodolfo and the cat in comparison to one another.

Initially, Gloria disliked the cat because of it's ugly appearance. Eventually, however, she discovered things are not always as they appear. Rodolfo appeared to love Gloria, but he turned out to be a weasel who repeatedly abandoned her. The cat looked like nasty vermin, with it's hairless body and rat's tail, but it turned out to be an affectionate friend who was just happy to be with her.

Upon rejecting Rodolfo and accepting the cat, Gloria learned a lesson about looking deeper, past surface appearances. This new awareness opened her to looking more deeply at herself by the end of the film.

[–] liscarkat (16552) 6 years ago

A lot of overthinking going on here. Sometimes a cat is just a cat.

[–] Buff70 10 years ago

It.s a REX I think. They are creepy looking. My neighbor used to have one .. she said they're so ugly that they're cute!

It was particularly scary to see it at night.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5965) 6 years ago

I think it shows Gloria will get a cat rather than a useless guy...