How did my apolitical novel suddenly become political?
Like most reasonable people, I was appalled to hear vice-presidential candidate JD Vance assert that “childless cat ladies” were the root cause of our nation’s problems. But I also felt a sense of amused irony because I had recently published a fantasy-adventure novel in which my heroes are women who fight to protect a group of extraordinary cats from harm. I was surprised to learn that what I thought was an apolitical fantasy has suddenly gained political relevance (more about my novel later in this essay).
My wife and I have no children (no, I will not make excuses) and own cats (ditto on the no excuses bit), so I find Mr. Vance’s insults deeply personal. I am also angry because this “cat lady” stereotype has been around too long and has done too much harm to let me sit silently and watch this fool repeat it. This derision of cats and the people (often women) who love them was not always the case. Stone-Age excavations show that cats had been domesticated at least 10,000 years ago to exploit their skills at eradicating vermin that threatened the food supply and to serve as companion animals along with dogs. In ancient times, the Egyptians recognized their intelligence and resourcefulness and revered them as gods.
Unfortunately, in the Middle Ages (a time when Mr. Vance would have undoubtedly felt at home), single, childless women and their cats became the targets of persecution by superstitious people who blamed every problem on the local witch—generally, a childless woman who lived alone with her cat. These ignorant fanatics slaughtered cats and women alike by the thousands. (The subsequent increase in the rat population that led to the spread of bubonic plague in Europe, which could be regarded as a form of sad justice.) This superstition continued into the birth of America and the Salem Witch Trials and persists today in the stereotype of childless women and their cats as defective, lesser members of society, ridiculed by the contemporary heirs of the medieval witch-hunters (JD Vance, if you’re listening . . .).
My wife is a living refutation of Mr. Vance’s stereotype. She has a master’s degree in computer science and has also graduated from Law School. She belongs to the bar in New Mexico, Colorado, and the District of Columbia, and currently runs a charity (an animal rescue) she founded. Through her, I have met dozens of “cat ladies,” childless and otherwise, none of whom fit Mr. Vance’s stereotype. My cat ladies include business executives, doctors, lawyers, engineers, skilled workers, artists, mothers, and homemakers. In my experience, these women and their love of cats are a source of great strength and kindness in our society. Challenging this stereotype was one of my goals when I wrote my novel, Swarm Metamorphosis: Circe and the Great Cat (even though I wrote it long before Mr. Vance’s remarks).
I wanted to challenge the Medieval stereotype by creating female characters who exemplify the virtues I have found in these women. I also wanted to create feline characters who demonstrate the intelligence, persistence, and loyalty I have seen in my own cats.
Set in the Bronze Age of Homer, Swarm Metamorphosis tells the story of five cats whose single extraordinary ability makes them the prize in a three-thousand-year-old blood feud between Circe, Homer’s powerful enchantress, and her insane half-brother. My heroines include Astrid Lund, a modern, recently divorced woman who owns and loves the five cats; Circe, whose enchantments inadvertently gave the animals their abilities and have transported Astrid and the cats to the Bronze Age; Myia, a teenage girl who killed the man who tried to rape her and fled to the wilderness to live by her wits and her bow; and Athena, the goddess of wisdom who reluctantly assists Circe in protecting the cats while keeping knowledge of their extraordinary nature from Zeus, her father and king of the gods. My heroines are assisted by Odysseus, Nestor and other characters from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
Although I wrote my novel long before Mr. Vance’s remarks, I am amazed at how much its deeper meanings challenge the ignorance exhibited by Mr. Vance, his enablers, and their medieval antecedents. I hope my writing will provide a more realistic perspective on this unfortunate stereotype.
Also, I hope you will read my novel (you can find it on Amazon in paper and Kindle formats). After all, my main goal in writing Swarm Metamorphosis: Circe and the Great Cat was to tell a story that would entertain people who love strong female protagonists, animals, and the characters and situations of Homer’s great epics, the Iliad and Odyssey.
