Varjak Paw

In the novel’s first section, Varjak Paw embarks on an adventure that follows the structure of the hero’s journey. Also known as the monomyth, the hero’s journey is a centuries-old pattern found in stories around the world. Joseph Campbell presented the theory of the monomyth in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). The hero’s journey can be broken into recognizable steps and begins with ‘the call to adventure.’ Varjak takes this first step in Chapter 5 when the Elder Paw entrusts him with the quest to save the family from the Gentleman, saying: “You must go Outside and find a dog” (42). By scaling the garden wall that separates Varjak’s familiar home from the unknown, he completes the step of ‘crossing the threshold.’ In Chapter 7, Varjak ‘meets the mentor’ when he encounters his legendary ancestor, Jalal, and begins learning the Seven Skills of the Way in his first mystical dream. Despite these accomplishments, Varjak experiences a customary setback on the hero’s journey at the end of this section. His mistaken assumption that cars are dogs prompts his ‘refusal of the call’: “The quest [is] too hard. It [is] impossible. The ball of terror in his stomach turn[s] into a heavy lump of despair” (67). As he continues his adventure, Varjak must combat these feelings of doubt and inadequacy to complete his quest.

Varjak’s ostracization from his family and his first encounter with Jalal establish the novel’s thematic exploration of The Impact of Heritage on Personal Development. At the start of the novel, the fictitious cat breed Mesopotamian Blue is associated with elegance, propriety, and a disparaging attitude toward other cats. Varjak doesn’t feel like he belongs in his family because they pride themselves on their life of ease and safety, which he finds suffocating. Ironically, the family’s commitment to luxury and idleness means that Varjak’s interest in hunting like his famed ancestor makes him less of a Mesopotamian Blue in his relatives’ eyes. Julius demonstrates this prejudicial perspective by calling his brother “a disgrace to the name of Jalal” (31). Varjak internalizes his relatives’ criticism and feels uncertain about who he truly is or where he belongs as a result. His quest gives him the opportunity to reclaim his heritage and develop his own sense of identity. He hopes that his family will recognize him as one of their own and a credit to his ancestors if he fulfills the mission his grandfather entrusted to him. In addition, learning the Way of Jalal allows him to prove himself as “a proper, pure-bred Mesopotamian Blue” by developing his skills and self-confidence rather than relying on his pedigree (54).

Thematically, Said uses Varjak’s story to examine Courage in the Face of Challenges. In these early chapters, the protagonist is a kitten who often feels weak and intimidated by others but gradually begins to grow in bravery. For example, he briefly stands up to Julius: “He’d never had a real fight, and he knew he didn’t stand a chance against Julius—but it was as if something inside him was rising up, something old and strong and buried deep” (33). Although he immediately backs down from this initial confrontation with his brother, it foreshadows Varjak’s potential as a fighter and the climactic showdown between him and Julius near the end of the book.

Although Varjak is terrified of the Gentleman and his black cats, his grandfather helps him to take decisive action by showing courage in a crisis: “‘Varjak,’ said the Elder Paw urgently, but without a hint of worry in his voice, ‘I think someone as brave as you could climb this wall and go Outside, don’t you?’” (42). The Elder Paw emerges as a model of courage by standing “proud and powerful” as he enters what he knows will be his final battle (42). The section’s ending establishes that Varjak still needs time to grow and gain courage because he flees from the cars after a “hard, tight ball of terror form[s] in Varjak’s stomach” (66). Although Varjak takes on significant challenges in these chapters, Said emphasizes that he is still learning how to manage his fear.

The Contessa’s house serves as both a setting and a symbol of the dangers of complacency. The Paw family takes great pride in living in the mansion even though its grandeur has faded with time, and Aunt Juni speaks for most of Varjak’s relatives when she declares, “This house is the only world we need” (28). Throughout the story, Said capitalizes the word “Outside” to emphasize how narrow the Paws’ experiences of the world have become. Due to the arrival of the Gentleman, the Paws’ refusal to leave the comforts of their familiar surroundings places them in danger, and Varjak’s journey into the unknown allows him to shake off the complacency that numbs his relatives to their peril.

Said uses Amber eyes as a motif of the impact of heritage on personal development. Julius disparages Varjak’s eyes as the “colour of danger” and claims that he isn’t a true Mesopotamian Blue because everyone else in the family has green eyes (10). This derision makes Varjak’s eye color a source of self-doubt. However, Said subverts the Paw family’s limited understanding of their heritage by revealing that Jalal’s eyes are “amber like the rising sun” (54). Varjak’s amber eyes emphasize the differences between the protagonist and his living relatives and mark him as the true heir of Jalal.

The Way of Jalal serves as a motif for the theme of courage in the face of challenges. Even knowing the names of a few skills is enough to aid Varjak when he’s dizzy with fear on top of the wall. Even in his panic, he recalls his grandfather’s instructions and says: “‘Moving Circles!’ He [isn’t] going to let the wall beat him. ‘Shadow-Walking!’ Because he [is] Varjak Paw, and he [knows] the Way” (53). As the novel continues, the Way gives Varjak the courage to face many fearsome challenges.