Meow the 36th – Devils, Demons, and More
Literary cats have long been part of human culture. In other words, cat content already existed long before the advent of the internet. In her scholarly article “Devils, Demons, Familiar, Friends” (see also the section Cats on the Net of this blog), Maria Nikolajeva traces the history of cats in literature and looks back at different periods in time.
In ancient Egypt, cats it had a simply god-like reputation. Cats actually were divine beings, representing not only the Egyptian goddess Bast but also incarnating the solar god Ra, who apparently kills an evil serpent. The goddess Bast was connected with joy and merrymaking, which was then associated with cats also in other cultures, such as in Norse mythology where cats were drawing Freya’s chariot.
In Oriental and European folklores, the image of the cat as a dragonslayer was changed into cats being one of the antagonists. Especially black cats feature as good and as evil. Cats received mystical and magical powers, which is positive and negative, in Chinese folklore.
In Europe the first story with cat content is the tale of Dick Whittington of 1392. Unlike today, the attitude to cats was unsentimental. The cat did not have a name and was just described as a good mouser.
In the Middle Ages, cats came to be seen as being connected to evil powers. They were linked to Satan and to Judas. It does not come as a surprise then that cats were associated with witches. Black cats turned into witches and back again. Cat monsters also appeared in King Arthur stories and Slavic folklore.
The image of the cat changed then into the portrayal of a creative and wise creature. E. T. A. Hofmann’s tale “The Life and Opinions of Tomcat Murr” is an example of such a talented cat. Fairy tale cats, like “Puss in Boots”” and The Bremen Town Musicians”, also appeared on the cat content stage.
In the 19th and 20 centuries, cats became popular as pets, which in turn made them appear in nursery rhymes. Cats featured as heroes or lesser characters in stories by famous authors, such as Lewis Carroll, T. S. Eliot, Edgar Allan Poe, Doris Lessing, Charles Baudelaire, Mikhail Bulgakov, and James Joyce. Examples of more modern books are Harry Potter and Warrior Cats.
Cats have a symbolic character in culture. The image of the cat is diverse. She-cats are connected to feminine witchcraft, shape-shifting, mystery, and sexuality. Some male cats are tricksters. Others are carnival figures, such as Dr. Seuss’s “The Cat in the Hat”. Cats may also have a metaphoric, symbolic, and allegorical function. They are magical helpers.
Cats have appealed to humans for a long time and are continuing to do so. The reason for the success of cat content lies in the cats’ mystical nature, their independence and cunning, and the combination of devotion and treachery. Cats are simply cultural icons.
The link to Nikolajeva’s full article is in the section Cats on the Net.
Featured image: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Edith Podhovnik (February 19, 2015). Meow the 36th – Devils, Demons, and More. Meow Factor. Retrieved September 16, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.58079/rdq8
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