The Cat Inside
Summary
Best known for the wild, phantasmagoric satire of works like Naked Lunch , William S. Burroughs reveals another, gentler side in The Cat Inside . Originally published as a limited-edition volume, this moving and witty discourse on cats combines deadpan routines and dream passages with a heartwarming account of Burroughs's unexpected friendships with the many cats he has known. It is also a meditation on the long, mysterious relationship between cats and their human hosts, which Burroughs traces back to the Egyptian cult of the "animal other." With its street sense and whiplash prose, The Cat Inside is a genuine revelation for Burroughs fans and cat lovers alike. (Goodreads)
William S. Burroughs and his cat (https://www.pinterest.es/pin/15340454950478265/)
Egyptomania narratives or motifs
During a public reading of an early draft of The Cat Inside held at Naropa University (at Boulder, Colorado) in 1985, Burroughs claimed that his short piece dealt with “interspecies contact”. The nature of this contact is singled out and traced back in several passages from the book, most notably those in which the author recounts the status of cats as objects of veneration among ancient Egyptians. This way, Burroughs draws on the daily and spiritual practices of ancient Egypt to articulate his own beliefs and mystic attachment to cats, as shown in the following excerpt:
“Evidence indicates that cats were first tamed in Egypt. The Egyptians stored grain, which attracted rodents, which attracted cats. (No evidence that such a thing happened with the Mayans, though a number of wild cats are native to the area.) I don't think this is accurate. It is certainly not the whole story. Cats didn't start as mousers. Weasels and snakes and dogs are more efficient as rodent-control agents. I postulate that cats started as psychic companions, as Familiars, and have never deviated from this function.”
Author: Samuel Fernández Pichel
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