Symbols in Cat and Mouse Symbols are very important in the story "Cat and Mouse" by Lisa Metzgar. Lisa tells the story of a woman dealing with problems ranging from a mouse in the house to not wanting to get married. Animals are used throughout the story to symbolize underlying issues. The reason the story is called that instead of simply "mouse" is because both the cat and the mouse represent Marcy at some point. The mouse is a symbol of him as he is trying to escape the traps that are set for him. This is the same way she tries to avoid being constrained by the people in her life. The cat can also represent Marcy after she takes the poison, symbolizing what will happen to her if she allows others to determine her happiness. At the beginning of the story, Marcy seems to have only one problem, and that is having a mouse in her house. However, it is only when he begins to think about the mouse that he "can't help but think about all the other things that are wrong with his life" (Metzgar, 67). The first problem for her is that her parents are at the beginning of their divorce and both seem to want to put her on their side. Her father wants her to meet (and eventually like) his new girlfriend Helen, while her mother wants Marcy to hate her. The other (and definitely bigger) problem is her relationship with her boyfriend Tom. She didn't really want a serious relationship when the two started dating, but she didn't want to hurt him either. Now she fears that he is suffocating her and fears that he will propose to her. The mouse represents Marcy in that, like her, he is hunted. The difference between the two is that she is the one trying to de... the center of the card... the main character. The mouse, running around Marcy's house, may represent her free self who does not want to be tied down. The traps that the mouse repeatedly escapes from are representations of the traps that Marcy herself escapes from when dealing with people throughout the story. The lazy cat who has nerve damage after eating rat pellets may represent Marcy if she lets the people around her control her. Although the reader can see the connection between the main character and the animals, it is only at the end of the story that Marcy realizes that the mouse is actually warning her of what will happen if she gives in to the "traps". Physically seeing the mouse trapped by the nose in the trap and seeing the unhappiness on his face, he realized that it would be the same if he allowed his spirit to be controlled by others..