Characters

The most important characters in the short story “Kittens” by Dean Koontz are Marnie Caufield and her father, Walter Caufield. Marnie’s mother, Mary, is also present. However, she is mostly a passive character who does not influence the action. She stands by and allows her husband to make all the decisions concerning Marnie, and also fails to stop Marnie at the end when she heads up to the twins in a rage. The twins themselves are mostly featured indirectly.

Marnie Caufield is the main character of the short story. The events are generally seen through her eyes, and the reader has access to her thoughts and feelings.  She is mostly defined by her worry that God will take her kittens again, and her anger when her father kills the kittens.

Marnie’s father, Walter Caufield, is also very important to the plot. His actions and his attitude towards Marnie will be what drives her over the edge. Walter Caufield also serves the purpose of showing the dangers of fanatical religion and what it could lead to.

Marnie Caufield

Marnie Caufield is the main character in the short story “Kittens” by Dean Koontz. Her outer characterization is not detailed. We are not told what she looks like or how old she is, for example. But we do know that she started school last September (p. 421, l. 3), so she is probably around seven years old. She comes from a very religious family, and she has two three-month-old siblings. We also know that she lives “on a farm in America” (p. 424, l. 25). References to Laymen’s Sunday (p. 420, l. 15) suggest that she might be from a Methodist family.

Marnie Caufield is described mostly through her thoughts and feelings, and her reactions to the events surrounding her. At the beginning, we get the impression that she is a typical child. She has fun by throwing stones in a river (p. 420, ll. 3-4), she was initially excited by her first year of school (p. 421, ll. 4-5), she enjoys Christmas (p. 421, ll. 6-8), and she likes kittens and makes careful preparations for the birth of the new ones (p. 421, ll. 21-22). We also learn th...