摘 要

《蒂凡尼早餐》是杜鲁门·卡波特最著名的小说之一。该小说通过回忆的视角，描述了女主人公霍莉·格莱特里经历颠沛流离却浮华追梦的过程。卡波特将叙事策略中的故事空间变化隐藏在小说中来推动情节的发展，而文中霍莉的猫虽然描写不多，却有象征着她自身的重大意义。本文结合小说猫在空间变换中的形象，主要从街边到霍莉家中再到窗边，重点从自然、个人和社会三方面分析猫的象征意义。在猫的象征中看出女主人公独立、自我保护和追求真我的不同方面的成长，也折射出卡波特对于社会的关注和对现实的思考。

关键词：《蒂凡尼早餐》；猫；象征主义；叙事；故事空间

Abstract

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, is one of the most important short novels written by Truman Capote. From the aspect of narrator’s reminiscence, it depicts heroine Holly Golightly, the countryside girl’s pursuit of fabrication and ostentation therefore a fate of displaced. Capote ingeniously and secretly applies the narrative method of variation of story space to plot development. Although the cat accompanied doesn’t shed much light, it plays vital role in symbolizing the heroine herself. This paper, with help of symbolism theory, analyzes symbolic meaning of three flow images of cat in different story space separately at the corner, in the flat and by the window, demonstrates Holly’s growth of independence, self-protection and value of the truth-self in natural, personal and social aspects.

Key words: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, cat, symbolism, narration, story space

Contents

1. Introduction 1
2. Demonstration 3
   1. Symbolic meanings of the stray cat at the corner 3
      1. Poor and little indicating Holly’s helplessness 4
      2. Nameless and lonely representing Holly’s homelessness 5
   2. Symbolic meanings of the elegant cat in brownstone apartment 5
      1. Charming Holly symbolized by the intelligent and haughty cat 6
      2. Rational Holly symbolized by the reticent and docile cat 7
      3. Realistic Holly symbolized by the eccentric and capricious cat 8
   3. Symbolic meanings of the deserted but saved cat by the window 8
      1. Deserting cat—Holly’s disillusion of material desire 9
      2. Searching cat—Holly’s seek of her new value 10
      3. Saving cat—Holly’s hope for better future 11
3. Conclusion 12

Notes 12

Works Cited 13

Bibliography 15

Symbolism of Cat in Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Introduction

Truman Capote (September 30, 1924-August 25, 1984), born in New Orleans, Louisiana while raised by his mother’s relatives in Monroeville, Alabama since his parents divorced when he was four, was an American novelist and playwright, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood (1966), which he labeled a ‘‘nonfiction novel’’, bringing him the most fame. At least 20 films and television dramas have been adapted from Capote’s novels, stories, and plays.

Directed by Blake Edwards and starring Audrey Hepburn, the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, adapted from the novel, was the top grossing one of the year 1961 which won two Oscars and nominated other great honors including Grammy and Golden Globe, to which extent bring more popularity of the novel itself. The heroine Holly is a countryside girl then turns into a New York café girl who has no job and lives by socializing with wealthy men. She hopes to marry one of those men who often take her to the clubs and restaurants, and give her money and expensive presents. That is to say, she has a dream of vanity and fame by some other hand. While the cat seemingly occasionally mentioned in this story actually has the symbolic meanings of Holly herself. Under many conditions and in many places, the cat plays a role of true portrayal of Holly herself.

The novella’s prose style prompted Norman Mailer to call Capote “the most perfect writer of my generation,” adding that he “would not have changed two words in Breakfast at Tiffany's.” The overseas study of this novella can be more concentrated on the link between Capote himself to the heroine Holly. For example, his biographer Gerald Clarke has suggested that Holly was perhaps also a projection of the author himself, a vehicle through which Capote explored his own struggles with social convention, depression, and his need for permanence and stability (313). What’s more,