Varjak Paw

The Contessa’s house symbolizes the dangers of complacency. At the beginning of the novel, Said uses the setting to convey the protagonist’s longing for adventure and dissatisfaction with his family’s lethargic lifestyle. While his family members pride themselves on their home, he feels stifled by “the stuffy furniture, the locked-up cupboards, the curtains he [isn’t] allowed to climb” (10). The Paws proudly claim their residence in the Contessa’s home as part of their inheritance from Jalal, but the author makes it clear that the legendary cat didn’t want his descendants to become idle. For example, he sees cats who depend on humans for food instead of hunting for themselves as “trapped […] by their own greed” (106). This description applies to the Paw family as a whole because their time in the Contessa’s house shrinks their world, makes them fearful of change, and cuts them off from opportunities to grow in strength and skill.

The true danger of complacency becomes clear when the Gentleman moves into the Contessa’s house. Aunt Juni sums up the family’s false sense of security when she declares, “This house is the only world we need” (28). Because of the family’s entrenched attachment to their familiar, comfortable life, they refuse to face the unknown outside world despite the Elder Paw’s warnings. Their complacency leaves them vulnerable to the Gentleman, who turns the house into a trap by installing cat doors that are “locked from the inside” and imprisoning hundreds of street cats in a giant metal cage on the second floor (193). The Paws cling to their complacency even in the midst of these troubling signs, saying: “[W]e all agree that the Gentleman would never harm one of us” (210). Although the protagonist’s family never shakes off their restricting desire for ease and familiarity, Varjak leaves the Contessa’s house and returns to the challenges of life in the city, reinforcing his rejection of complacency’s perils.