Abstract

May Sarton is a prolific American journalist, novelist and poet. Among all her works, her best work lies in her journals and memoirs, and At Eighty-Two is her last journal book. In this book, Sarton’s cat as her indispensable companion appears frequently. Therefore, this thesis ties to reveal Sarton’s preference to cats based on the literary analysis of At Eighty-Two, especially the descriptions about Sarton and her pets, from the following aspects. Firstly, this paper explains the definition of life framework for Sarton, and discusses the role Sarton’s cat Pierrot plays in her life. And since Sarton has raised dogs before but finally gives up in her final years, there must be some reasons for the change, which will be discussed by comparing different characteristics between cats and dogs. Moreover, this paper also analyzes Pierrot’s influence on Sarton’s daily life from different angles, showing his pivotal status. By reading this thesis, people in advanced age can be inspired to find out what kind of pets are more suitable to keep as companions to raise their life quality and young readers can have an overall impression on seniors’ life. 

Keywords: May Sarton; At Eighty-two; pet; cat; companion

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Brief Introduction of May Sarton’s Background-1

1.2 Literature review-1

1.3 The Purpose and Structure of the Paper-3

2.Sarton’s life framework-5

2.1 The definition of life framework for Sarton-5

2.2 Pets as a component of Sarton’s life framework-7

3. The Reflections of the differences between cats and dogs-8

3.1 Sorts of pets-8

3.2 The differences between dogs and cats-8

3.3. Different attitudes towards cats and dogs-9

4. The Cat Pierrot-10

4.1 Pierrot’s influence on Sarton’s mood-10

4.1.1 Strong emotional swings caused by Pierrot-….10

4.1.2 Comfort given by the companion of Pierrot-11

4.2 Pierrot’s importance for Sarton-11

5. Conclusion-14

References-15