Cat Person

“After the movie, he came back to her. ‘Concession-stand girl, give me your phone number,’ he said, and, surprising herself, she did.”

Part of Robert’s personality relies on his authority as an older man. He does not ask for Margot’s number; he says it as a statement, one that can be read as a command. Even though Margot is tentative, she obeys, perhaps against her better judgment and definitely against what she thought she would do, so deeply is she socialized to give in to men.

“He offered to buy her some Red Vines to sustain her. At first, she deflected this with another joke, because she really did have to study, but he said, ‘No, I’m serious, stop fooling around and come now,’ so she put on a jacket over her pajamas and met him at the 7-Eleven.”

This is one of the first times the narrative portrays how Robert treats young women: He acts as though he is their father and commands them to obey his bidding. And again, Margot sacrifices her own desires and needs to appeal to him. Ultimately, Robert offers but is unable to get her Red Vines, an inability to satisfy which potentially foreshadows their sexual encounter.

“She thought he was going to go in for a kiss and prepared to duck and offer him her cheek, but instead of kissing her on the mouth he took her by the arm and kissed her gently on the forehead, as though she were something precious.”

Robert, perhaps sensing Margot’s apprehension, surprises her with a patronizing forehead kiss. Margot reads this as indicative of how much Robert values her. The narrative suggests that Margot is correct in her assertion that Robert views her as “something precious,” although Margot emphasizes the “precious” instead of the “something.