Setting

The short story “The White Cat” by Jim Brannin takes place in the UK, as we can tell from the mention of the RSPCA, an animal shelter organization which operates in England and Wales. The text also refers to Constable, a British landscape painter. 

The physical setting is limited to the small universe of Hattie’s room on the upper floor of a shared house and the view she has from her window into the back garden. The feeling of a confined environment is further increased by Hattie pulling back only a corner of her curtains to get a glimpse of the outside world. Thereby the setting underlines how she chooses to deliberately narrow her field of vision, both literally and symbolically.

The cats she watches in the back garden become an important part of he...