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Power Dynamic Characters In Kristen Roupenian's Cat Person

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The power dynamic between women and men continues to be an issue throughout society, setting a disturbing image of men having complete control over women. In the short story, Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian, a young girl named Margot begins to have a close relationship with a man she casually meets while working at the movie theater. As Roberts personality slowly begins to unravel when they decide to meet with each other, it soon becomes apparent to Margot that he upholds a form of dominance within their relationship. This further creates a set of challenges for her character as she becomes a victim of his narcissistic and manipulative behavior. By utilizing Margots internal dialogue and imagery allows readers to become aware of the power imbalance …show more content…

When Robert and Margot are having an intimate moment at his house, she soon becomes overwhelmed and tells herself” She thought.. what it would take to stop what she set into motion… it would require an amount of tact and gentleness that she felt was impossible to summon.” In this particular moment, Robert soon becomes quite touchy and is in a way demanding the act of intimate relations from Margot causing an uncomfortable moment for her to confront. The phrase “impossible to summon” highlights Margot’s perhaps lack of confidence and lack of power she may feel in comparison to Robert, further revealing her fear of confrontation. If Margot truly felt close or comfortable with Robert, it would not be so difficult for her to deny consent to him but instead, she puts herself through it and quickly regrets the entire thing. The theme of power imbalance creates this notion for not only Margot but other women throughout society who are scared of saying no to men during uncomfortable situations. But what creates this fear for women, when Margot explains that she was not worried about Robert becoming angry towards her? It may be said that Margot becomes afraid to display her vulnerability and backing out of something she agrees with, due to fear of judgment from not only Robert but any individual who becomes aware of this situation. In this particular instance, the story creates this sort of notion towards the act of consent which can allude to a situation where women feel forced into having sex with men they barely know of. The age gap between these two characters is also a contributing factor to this scene in the story. This situation can easily be juxtaposed with a child and an adult interacting with one another, where an age gap creates a wide opportunity for dominance and authority to arrive, leaving “the child”

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