After the incident, Cat did not feel as though she could rely on him anymore and she became disillusioned by the idea of him as her protector. Although, at one point, when talking about Gwennie and Beef, she said that part of her “still clung to the belief that big brothers took care of their little sisters” (Myracle, page 53). Throughout the book Cat talks about how she does not trust Christian anymore. He continues to try and protect her even though she pushes him away. He follows her to Wally’s and tries to keep her from leaving the house and digging around in other peoples’ secrets. It could be that Cat is unwilling to let Christian back in because she feels he is connected not only to that event, but also to the domineering male presence…show more content… I noticed that whenever she is talking about or having a conversation with another female character she makes a point to comment, usually in a negative way, on their physical appearance. Cat describes Tammy’s hair as looking like a “beetles shell.” After that Cat says she thinks “[Tammy] was the one with brain damage, bless her heart” (Myracle, page 24). Only a few pages later she talks about how Verleen’s makeup is “caked in her many wrinkles” (Myracle, page 27). Later we meet Tommy’s grandmother, Mrs. Lawson. At this point we learn that Cat, and probably the rest of the town, know that she thinks a lot of herself solely based on the fact that she is called “grandmother” instead of “grannie.” This assumption is not wrong either. Mrs. Lawson is a far cry from the other women in Shine. She is uptight, proper, and thinks a lot of herself. Cat knows this and wishes that she could say something to Mrs. Lawson to bring her down a peg. Instead she just thinks to herself that the old woman’s outfit is ugly and even says that “she looked like an eraser” (Myracle, page 38). All of these instances show how Cat views the women around her. She seems to put them down as a way to feel separate or even better than them. Cat does not want to be a part of the group of church ladies because they represent the lowest form of femininity in her town. They are the epitome of complacent house wives.
