Cat's Eye is a 1988 novel by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood about fictional painter Elaine Risley, who vividly reflects on her childhood and teenage years. Her strongest memories are of Cordelia, who was the leader of a trio of girls who were both very cruel and very kind to her in ways that tint Elaine's perceptions of relationships and her world — not to mention her art — into her middle years. The novel unfolds in mid-20th century Canada, from World War II to the late 1980s, and includes a look at many of the cultural elements of that time period, including feminism and various modern art movements. The book was a finalist for the 1988 Governor General's Award and for the 1989 Booker Prize.
Explanation of the title
Elaine and her brother Stephen play marbles as children; Elaine keeps a prized possession, a cat's eye marble, in her childhood plastic red purse. The cat's eye later appears as a common motif in Elaine's paintings, linked with those she perceived to be an ally, although she does not remember why it is associated with those feelings. Elaine rediscovers the red purse years later, and as she looks through it, she regains all the memories she had lost: "her life entire".
Plot summary
After being lured back to her childhood home of Toronto for a retrospective show of her art, Elaine reminisces about her childhood. At the age of eight she becomes friends with Carol and Grace, and, through their eyes, realises that her atypical background of constant travel with her entomologist father and independent mother has left her ill-equipped for conventional expectations of femininity. Although initially awkward and naive of childhood politics and social structure, Elaine is accepted, even admired by her new friends. Her lifestyle, even now, is exotic to the others. Elaine, after fantasizing about having girl friends during her nomadic brief existence, begins to settle in and enjoy her new life and new school.
After her first full year of attending traditional grade school, during her summer break, her parents return her to their previous life of travel and insect exploration. After a four-month absence, Elaine returns home to her friends for the next school year.
Upon her return, Elaine finds the dynamic of her group has been altered with the addition of the new girl, Cordelia. Elaine is first drawn in by Cordelia but after a period, sensing her inability to recognize the cruelty, Elaine is bullied by the three girls, her supposed "best friends." The bullying takes place mostly in the form of a seemingly benevolent attempt by the three girls to 'improve' Elaines character and behavior. They seemingly try to educate her and display a constant disappointment in Elaine's inability to comply to their standards.
After mostly destroying any self-esteem Elaine has developed in her new life, she gradually becomes depressed and feels helpless, unable to stand up to them or rescue herself. She continually complies with the demeaning demands of the group and considers the worst transgression she could ever commit would be to tattle on her "friends," a sick loyalty nurtured and fed by Cordelia, who has two older sisters, apparently treating her in a similar manner. Elaine, despite her parents' concern, even accompanies Grace and her family to their church, which, to Grace's amazement and curiosity, is Elaine's first exposure to mainstream religion. Her newly found faith is tested when she continues to be poorly treated, even by Grace's mother.
The bullying escalates that winter when the girls throw Elaine's hat into a ravine and then abandon her to climb out of the ravine river water, half-frozen. On the brink of panic, Elaine sees a vision of the Virgin Mary, whom she learned about in Grace's church. In a haze, an illusion of the Virgin guides Elaine to safety. Afterward, realizing she allowed herself to be a victim all along, Elaine is finally able to make a break and makes new friends.
Later, now in high school, and earlier events somewhat repressed, Elaine reestablishes a friendship with Cordelia but without Carol or Grace, who have both moved out of the area. Elaine is much tougher now than when she was as a child, and the tables turn as she often taunts Cordelia.
Cordelia, it appears, is experiencing her own crisis and has trouble applying herself to her studies and begins to act out. Elaine feels a mix of triumph, contempt and pity when she realizes she has outgrown Cordelia. She is relieved that she can no longer be manipulated by the girl who essentially was the leader and the number one bully during their childhood.