Cathy In John Steinbeck's East Of Eden

Steinbeck describes Cathy from her early childhood. He writes that she was always a strange and fascinating child. She was born as an only child to the Ames family. She was always a liar, but not like many other children lie, her lies “were not innocent” and, unlike others, “she never forgot her lies” (East of Eden 98). She also at a very young age learnt the power of sexuality and there was one incident, when she is ten years old, in which she locks herself and ties herself in the barn with two fourteen year old boys. It seems that they are performing some sexual acts, until her mother, Mrs. Ames, catches them. Since the boys say that Cathy made them pay her some money and even tied her own hands, nobody believes them and they are sent away to the house of correction (East of Eden 100-102). Presumably, their

Edwards, who falls in love with her and gives her a lot of money and gifts. Soon he finds out who she really is and what she did, he takes her to a small town to Connecticut, where he beats her almost to her death and leaves her there (East of Eden 130). Cathy manages to crawl to the Trask farm, where she finds help and comfort by the two brothers (East of Eden 146). Adam falls in love with her immediately, but Charles sees right through her. As she is getting better, she manipulates Adam into asking her to marry her (East of Eden, 154). She agrees and then she makes Adam drink her pain-killer medicine, from which Adam falls asleep. Cathy then gets into Charles’ bed and they have sex (East of Eden 163). After Adam and pregnant Cathy move to Salinas and their sons Aaron and Caleb are born, she leaves them to be a prostitute in a brothel. There she changes her name to Kate; she kills the owner of the brother Faye and becomes the owner herself, where she blackmails lots of her customers, who are powerful and known men. After her encounter with her innocent and pure son Aron, she kills