Bog of Cats Essay - Marina Carr's Play

In Marina Carr's play, The Bog of Cats, the evils of female sexuality are unhinged. A troubled woman named Hester is the central character in the play. Hester is an outcast and has experienced abandonment often. Hester's mother, Josie, abandoned Hester when she was merely seven years old, and Hester's lover of fourteen years named Carthage, also abandons Hester, and marries a younger and wealthier woman. Regardless of these betrayals, Hester clings to the idea that her mother will return to the Bog of Cats. A quote from Hester discussing her mother, "And I watched her walk away from me from the Bog of Cats, and across the Bog of Cats I'll watch her return" (29). Hester's appetite for revenge and her insatiable urge to connect with her mother tragically destroys the lives of her daughter, her brother, and ultimately herself.

Since her mother abandoned her, Hester has been in a constant state of hatred, grief, and nostalgia. A quote depicting Hester's hatred towards her mother, "If she showed up now I'd spit in her face. I'd box the jaws off of her, I'd go after her with a knife, I'd make her squeal like a cornered badger" (45). Hester's emotions cause destruction. Hester murders her only blood relative (Joseph) because of her intense jealousy and spite. Joseph was closer to Big Josie Swane then Hester and this drives Hester to madness and the act of murder.

The Catwoman is a blind, mythical old woman with a gift of foretelling the future.. Catwoman warns Hester that there is a curse upon her and she must leave the bog to save herself. Catwoman attempts to justify the curse on Hester, "I been thinking a while now that there's some fierce wrong ya done that's caught up with ya" (13). The wrong Hester has committed comes from her inability to control her emotions and her sexual indiscretions outside of marriage. A woman that