Elaine Risley

The protagonist and narrator of Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye, Elaine Risley, is a respected yet controversial artist who returns to her hometown of Toronto for a retrospective exhibition of her work. The exhibition causes Elaine to reflect on her life and her coming of age story, spanning childhood to adulthood, is presented across the three days she attends the exhibition through strands of her memory. Elaine recalls when she was eight and she and her parents had lived in the woods and various camping cabins due to her father’s job as a forest entomologist. Eventually the family moves to Toronto, she joins school and makes friends for the first time. Elaine’s early years playing with her older brother, Stephen, give her an insight into men and a comfortable understanding about them that will follow her through her childhood and adolescence; playing wars with sticks, catching and dissecting insects prepare her for the rough and tumble of life. Occasional fights show her the physical side to relationships. However nothing she learns from Stephen prepares her for relating to girls. She views her relationships with boys and, later, men to be simple and straightforward while her relationships with girls are seen as an entirely different entity.

When the family moves to Toronto, Elaine joins the local school and gains friends for the first time: Carol and Grace. However after a third girl, Cordelia, joins the group, Elaine’s friends being to torment her, pointing out her imaginary deficiencies, and taunting her until she becomes distraught. Since Elaine considers the loss of her friends to be a worse fate than the bullying, she puts up with her friends’ mistreatment. It is some time before she summons the courage to reject these friends, but the psychological harm they have done is irreversible. Elaine’s personality is formed both by the bullying itself, her defence mechanisms of escape, and cruelty.

Elaine’s suffering at the hands of her school friends and isolated childhood cause her to lose confidence. She is confused by and struggles to understand the indirect manner in which the girls torment her, which contrasts the rather straight-forward style she finds familiar in boys. The psychological torture of her friends’ incessant taunting, led primarily by Cordelia, leads Elaine into an experience of victimhood and she becomes increasingly insecure. Only her cat’s eye marble and the visions she has of the Virgin Mary help her get through these dark times. Atwood further complicates the narrative with Elaine forgetting the bullying as she grows older and exacting cruelty on others. Learning to step outside her body and faint on cue, young Elaine learns that escape is possible. Later, she will simply walk away from her friends, her lovers and her husband.

Adult Elaine endures her own struggles; a constant second guessing about how to treat others and what to wear show that she is at times still a little lost in society. Her sharp communicative nature, as seen when she is interviewed for the gallery opening, belies her childhood trauma. Elaine finds some peace as an adult, restoring a burned bridge with her first husband Jon and letting the emotions pass that the trip home have produced.

Elaine Risley Quotes

This is the middle of my life. I think of it as a place, like the middle of a river, the middle of a bridge, halfway across, halfway over. I’m supposed to have accumulated things by now: possessions, responsibilities, achievements, experience and wisdom. I’m supposed to be a person of substance. But since coming back here I don’t feel weightier. I feel lighter, as if I’m shedding matter, losing molecules, calcium from my bones, cells from my blood; as if I’m shrinking, as if I’m filling with cold air, or gently falling snow. (Elaine) Chapter 3

Alongside my real life I have a career, which may not qualify as exactly real. I am a painter. (Elaine) Chapter 3

When I was put into the hole I knew it was a game; now I know it is not one. I feel sadness, a sense of betrayal. Then I feel the darkness pressing down on me; then terror. (Elaine) Chapter 20

I think about becoming invisible. I think about eating the deadly nightshade berries from the bushes beside the path. I think about drinking the Javex out of the skull and crossbones bottle in the laundry room, about jumping off the bridge, smashing down there like a pumpkin, half of an eye, half of a grin. I would come apart like that, I would be dead, like the dead people.
I don’t want to do these things, I’m afraid of them. But I think about Cordelia telling me to do them, not in her scornful voice, in her kind one. I hear her kind voice inside my head. Do it. (Elaine) Chapter 29

I’m tired of having long wavy hair that has to be held back by barrettes or hairbands, I’m tired of being a child. I watch with satisfaction as my hair falls away from me like fog and my head emerges, sharper-featured, more clearly defined. (Elaine) Chapter 38

I have such a mean mouth that I become known for it. I don’t use it unless provoked, but then I open my mean mouth and short, devastating comments come out of it. (Elaine) Chapter 43

I have no doubt that all of these things are true. Rapists exist, and those who molest children and strangle girls. They exist in the shadows, like the sinister men who lurk in ravines, not one of whom I have ever seen. They are violent, wage wars, commit murders. They do less work and make more money. They shove the housework off on women…. But I am on shaky ground, in this testifying against men, because I live with one. (Elaine in the feminist meeting) Chapter 61

This is what I miss, Cordelia: not something that’s gone, but something that will never happen. Two old women giggling over their tea. (Elaine) Chapter 74

Mr and Mrs Risley

Elaine’s father is an entomology professor at the Toronto University. Excused from serving in the Second World War, due to his position being deemed as essential to the nation (a decision Elaine does not understand), he takes his family on a nomadic journey through Canada’s forests, listing and examining insects. In the summer, the family are in the forest, in winter, a town or cabin. Eventually Mr Risley buys a home and takes a stable position at the University where, every Saturday, Elaine and Stephen visit him while he works. He is a kind family man with good intentions although he seems stereotypically involved in his work and unaware that his daughter is being traumatised. He teaches his children and their friends about climate change and environmental concerns of the day. After his children are grown, he retires and continues his studies full time. He never recovers from the death of his son and seems to lose his spirit.

Mrs Risley is an unconventional mother in many ways. She is unwilling to conform, wearing track suits and taking walks in the ravine, activities not attributed to the other mothers. She dislikes cooking, housework and church attendance, traits that are seen to be more conventional; an archetype for the passive feminist, comfortable on her own path without actively confronting the gender stereotypes of the day. She is content with who she is and undisturbed about the opinions of others. She is a devoted mother, but incapable when addressing the bullying issue. Years later it is revealed that she knew there was a problem but does not offer an explanation about her lack of intervention. After her son and husband die, she holds out a year longer before passing away from an unknown disease.

Mr and Mrs Risley Quotes

‘Remember this,’ our father says. ‘This is a classic infestation. You won’t see an infestation like this again for a long time.’ It’s the way I’ve heard people talk about forest fires, or the war: respect and wonderment mixed in with the sense of catastrophe. (Elaine) Chapter 13

What would I have done if I had been my mother? She must have realized what was happening to me, or that something was. Even toward the beginning she must have noted my silences, my bitten fingers, the dark scabs on my lips where I’d pulled off patches of the skin. (Elaine) Chapter 28

I made this right after she died. I suppose I wanted to bring her back to life. I suppose I wanted her timeless, though there is no such thing on earth. These pictures of her, like everything else, are drenched in time. (Elaine about the painting of her mother) Chapter 28

All fathers except mine are invisible in daytime; daytime is ruled by mothers. But fathers come out at night. Darkness brings home the fathers, with their real, unspeakable power. There is more to them than meets the eye. And so we believe the belt. (Elaine) Chapter 32

Stephen Risley

Stephen is Elaine’s older brother. The two are very close and their time spent together as children forges their strong bond. Elaine shows respect for Stephen when he quickly fits in with the other boys at school but she also knows that this is a survival technique. Stephen’s true passion is science. As he matures, Stephen moves away from the family and Elaine knows little about his later life, except that he lives in San Francisco and marries a woman named Annette. Stephen works as a quantum physicist and returns to Toronto to give a talk on his research. Elaine attends and is impressed but there is a distinct distance between them. Their childhood bond is still intact but time has separated them. While travelling on an airplane that is hijacked by terrorists, Stephen’s life is sacrificed as part of a power struggle. Calm and scientific to the end, he is the symbolic lamb led to the slaughter; his curiosity and childlike wonder about the world ignored, political agendas and violence allowed to reign. Stephen’s death leaves both the parents devastated and they never appear to recover from the loss.

Stephen Risley Quotes

A lot of the time my brother doesn’t seem aware of me. He’s thinking about other things, solemn things that are important. He sits at the dinner table, his right hand moving, pinching a breadcrust into pellets, staring at the wall behind my mother’s head, on which there is a picture of three milkweed pods in a vase, while my father explains why the human race is doomed. (Elaine about Stephen and her father) Chapter 39

‘Time is a dimension,’ he says. ‘You can’t separate it from space. Space-time is what we live in.’ He says there are no such things as discrete objects which remain unchanged, set apart from the flow of time. (Stephen to Elaine about time) Chapter 40

He has a look of amazing brilliance, as if at any minute his head will light up and become transparent, disclosing a huge brightly colored brain inside. At the same time he looks rumpled and bewildered, as if he’s just wakened from a pleasant dream to find himself surrounded by Munchkins. (Elaine about Stephen) Chapter 59

My brother Stephen died five years ago. I shouldn’t say died: was killed. I try not to think of it as murder, although it was, but as some kind of accident, like an exploding train. Or else a natural catastrophe, like a landslide. What they call for insurance purposes an act of God. (Elaine) Chapter 68

Cordelia

Portrayed in a ghost-like manner throughout the novel, Cordelia haunts Elaine from the first moment they meet, physically, psychologically and emotionally, appearing and disappearing to harass Elaine. A typical bully, Cordelia gains control of Elaine’s friends, Grace and Carol, and subjects Elaine to a series of humiliating and tormenting acts including exclusion from conversations and being forced into and trapped in a ditch. This culminates with Cordelia throwing Elaine’s hat off the bridge and Elaine nearly dying trying to retrieve it. Eventually Elaine snaps and walks away, taking power over the situation. This escape will become her modus operandi, or usual method, of dealing with difficulties in life.

Reunited in their teens, when Cordelia’s mother pleads for Elaine to befriend her at high school after a problem at Cordelia’s school forces her return to Elaine’s school, it is Elaine that starts to take some measure of cruelty out on others. Known for her sharp mouth, she is feared by the girls at her high school and resembles the younger Cordelia.

Cordelia is seen to be struggling at times both psychologically and developmentally. Her return to the local school comes after trouble with authorities at her old one. She immediately struggles to keep up with the school work and relies on Elaine to help her but eventually fails classes and develops a ‘who cares’ attitude.

Atwood implies that Cordelia’s bullying and recalcitrant ways were the result of an abusive father and by constant comparison to her older, more impressive sisters. Her life as a powerful bully is short and she slowly loses all of her power, ultimately appearing pitiable and weak, begging for escape from a ‘rest home’, rather than being manipulative and strong. It is Cordelia’s lack of appearance at the end of the novel when Elaine returns that exemplifies Elaine’s ability to finally move on from her childhood trauma.

Cordelia Quotes

There is no one I would ever tell this to, except Cordelia. But which Cordelia? The one I have conjured up, the one with the rolltop boots and the turned-up collar, or the one before, or the one after? There is never only one, of anyone. (Elaine) Chapter 2

Grace and Carol are standing among the apple trees, just where I left them. But they don’t look the same. They don’t look at all like the pictures of them I’ve carried around in my head for the past four months, shifting pictures in which only a few features stand out… A third girl is with them. (Elaine) Chapter 13

This is what Mummie says when she’s angry: ‘I am disappointed in you.’ If she gets very disappointed, Cordelia’s father will be called into it, and that is serious. None of the girls jokes or drawls when mentioning him. (About Cordelia’s family) Chapter 14

She knows the rituals, she knows how we’re supposed to be behaving, now that we’re in high school. But I think these things are impenetrable and fraudulent, and I can’t do them without feeling I’m acting. (Elaine about Cordelia) Chapter 39

I imitate relief. I feel free, and weightless.
But I am not free, of Cordelia. (Elaine) Chapter 63

This is what I miss, Cordelia: not something that’s gone, but something that will never happen. Two old women giggling over their tea. (Elaine) Chapter 74

Carol Campbell

Carol is the first friend that Elaine makes as she begins school in Toronto. She is an anomaly for Elaine as she does not like insects and climbing. This difference is where Elaine finds out how to ‘act’ as a girl. She sees Elaine as different at first and is keen to spend time with her but this quickly changes when Cordelia appears and Carol falls into place as a subordinate to Cordelia and a bully to Elaine.

Carol Campbell Quotes

Carol asks me what church I go to, and I say I don’t know. In fact we never go to church. (Elaine) Chapter 9

‘Ew,’ says Carol, screwing up her face and wriggling all over. I can’t pretend to be shocked and disgusted too: my brother wouldn’t be convinced. (Elaine) Chapter 10

Grace Smeath

Grace is Elaine’s friend and playmate who shows another manipulative technique, feigning headaches if the games are not those she wishes to play and threatening to end playtime. Another friend that turns on Elaine under the influence of Cordelia, Grace takes Elaine to church but is constantly watching her to report to Cordelia. The hypocrisy of Grace’s mother’s church life and her bullying of Elaine is another example of how parents subtly shape their children.

Grace is constantly cutting out photos from magazines that typify successful womanhood. This and her Eaton’s Catalogue clothing, indicating a distinct ‘middle class’ life, is something Elaine does not initially understand, coming from a low-income background. Grace does not display many independent characteristics and is quick to be a co-bully under Cordelia’s spell.

Grace Smeath Quotes

I want some friends, friends who will be girls. Girl friends. I know that these exist, having read about them in books, but I’ve never had any girl friends because I’ve never been in one place long enough. (Elaine) Chapter 5

‘Those girls gave you a bad time,’ she says one day. I’ve made both or us a cup of tea—she’s permitted this—and we sit at the kitchen table, drinking it. (Mrs Risley to Elaine) Chapter 69

Mr and Mrs Smeath

Strict and religious, Mrs Smeath plays a significant part in Elaine’s life, or at least in her memory. While Mr Smeath, who is typically at work most of the time, seems good-natured and often tries to include Elaine in conversation through jokes, Mrs Smeath sees Elaine as a project. Her mission to redeem Elaine places obstacles in Elaine’s path. Having to wear a hat to church, to pause to say grace, and to memorise saints and psalms are a series of tasks that Elaine endures to fit in with the Smeath family. It parallels the bullying she is already receiving. Much like her desire to have friends puts her in a place to be bullied, her desire for religion also places her in a subjugated state. Overhearing a conversation between Mrs Smeath and Mrs Smeath’s sister about how ‘different’ they view Elaine to be, causes Elaine to eventually walk away from attending church with the Smeaths.

Mr and Mrs Smeath Quotes

She smiles a lot, with her lips closed over her large teeth; but, like Grace, she does not laugh. (Elaine about Mrs Smeath) Chapter 11

‘It’s God’s punishment,’ says Mrs. Smeath. ‘It serves her right.’ (Aunt Mildred and Mrs Smeath about Elaine) Chapter 33

Her bad heart floats in her body like an eye, an evil eye, it sees me. (Elaine about Mrs Smeath) Chapter 33

I was unbaptized, a nest for demons: how could she know what germs of blasphemy and unfaith were breeding in me? And yet she took me in. Some of this must be true. I have not done it justice, or rather mercy. Instead I went for vengeance. An eye for an eye leads only to more blindness. (Elaine about Mrs Smeath) Chapter 71

Mrs Finestein

As the urban sprawl hits Toronto, more neighbours appear. Among these is Mrs Finestein. She is a kind Jewish lady who employs Elaine to babysit for a time until threats from Cordelia, Grace and Carol force Elaine to resign, fearing for the safety of Baby George. Elaine turns to Mrs Finestein as a source of kindness and understanding and later depicts her as one of the three muses in her painting.

Mrs Finestein Quotes

She’s not like any mother I’ve ever seen. (Elaine about Mrs Finestein) Chapter 25

‘Jews are kikes,’ says Carol, glancing at Cordelia for approval. (Carol) Chapter 25

‘Honey, that’s all right,’ she says, looking into my raw, watery eyes. She puts her arm around me and gives me a hug and an extra nickel. No one has ever called me honey before this. I go home, knowing I have failed her, and also myself. (Elaine with Mrs Finestein) Chapter 25

Who knows what death camp ashes blew daily through the head of Mrs Finestein, in those years right after the war? (Elaine, Thee Muses) Chapter 71

Mr Banerji

Mr Banerji is a warm and friendly scientist who stays with Elaine’s family for a period during her childhood. Elaine feels a kindred spirit with him because he is anxious and persecuted like her. He treats her extremely politely and she later paints him as one of her three muses after he returns to India when the university refuses to promote him, a commentary on the effectiveness of Canadian immigration.

Mr Banerji Quotes

‘Fooling with Nature, sir,’ says Mr Banerji. I know already that this is the right response. Investigating Nature is one thing and so is defending yourself against it, within limits, but fooling with it is quite another. (Elaine) Chapter 24

His view of life has darkened since Mr Banerji returned to India. There is some obscurity around this: it is not talked of much. My mother says he was homesick, and hints at a nervous breakdown, but there was more to it than that. ‘They wouldn’t promote him,’ says my father. There’s a lot behind they (not we ), and wouldn’t (not didn’t). ‘He wasn’t properly appreciated.’ I think I know what this means. (Mr Risley to Elaine about Mr Banerji) Chapter 52

Joseph Hrbik

Joseph Hrbik is a prominent ‘male’ figure in the novel. Elaine, now an independent university student, falls for him when she takes a life drawing class that he teaches. He appears to have a power and control aspect to his relationships that he starts with his students. His relationship with a student, Susie, ends with Susie performing a self-termination of a pregnancy and nearly dying before Elaine rushes her to hospital. Likewise Joseph controls Elaine, choosing hairstyles and clothing for her. His power and impact on the women typify the gender issues of the day.

Joseph Hrbik Quotes

‘Don’t leave me,’ he says, running his hands over me; always before, not after. ‘I couldn’t bear it.’ This is an old-fashioned thing to say, and in another man I would find it comical, but not in Josef. I am in love with his need. (Elaine about Mr Hrbik) Chapter 53

‘I have no country,’ says Josef mournfully. He touches my cheek tenderly, gazing into my eyes. ‘You are my country now.’ (Mr Hrbik) Chapter 53

Josef is rearranging me. (Elaine) Chapter 55

Jon

A fellow artist from the life drawing class, Jon, becomes Elaine’s first husband. He displays many of the male qualities that Atwood ascribes to the gender: a womaniser and a selfish egoist. He is untidy in his appearance and his home is borderline unhygienic. Although he and Elaine marry when she becomes pregnant with Sarah, Jon continues to have affairs and they fight until they divorce. Elaine employs her running away tactic to move from him to Vancouver. Jon represents a certain kind of young idealism that ends up reduced with the entrance into normal adult life. Elaine and Jon have an affair when she attends the gallery opening that seems to mend the broken bridges of their past.

Jon Quotes

I look at him with the nostalgic affection men are said to feel for their wars, their fellow veterans. I think, I once threw things at this man. (Elaine about Jon) Chapter 47

Forgiving men is so much easier than forgiving women. (Elaine) Chapter 47

As for Jon, I know what he offers. He offers escape, running away from the grown-ups. He offers fun, and mess. He offers mischief. (Elaine) Chapter 57

Ben

Ben is Elaine’s current husband and father of her second daughter, Anne. He is a travel agent and this break from ‘artistic’ men like Mr Hrbik and Jon seems to be what Elaine is looking for; a message that the passion of artists can be toxic if not tempered by the earthly. Ben represents a mature stage in Elaine’s life, a settling in to the expectations of adulthood. Stable and in some ways old fashioned, Ben makes Elaine happy as he is simple and reliable.

Ben Quotes

I don’t feel I’m being disloyal to Ben, only loyal to something else; which predates him, which has nothing to do with him. An old score. (Elaine with Jon) Chapter 64

Ben considers me good, and I don’t disturb this faith: he doesn’t need my more unsavory truths. He considers me also a little fragile, because artistic: I need to be cared for, like a potted plant. I’m good at leaving. The trick is to close yourself off. Don’t hear, don’t see. Don’t look back. (Elaine) Chapter 66