Love Triangle

In the essay I read tonight from Cat Women: Female Writers on Their Feline Friends, the writer is a single woman with a devoted black cat named Sashi who views the new man in her owner's life suspiciously.

Before Mr. Right comes on the scene, though, the writer relates her attempt to teach Sashi to walk on a leash. Sashi does not like this. To make her point, Sashi manages to remove her collar and bury it in her litter box. Sashi is a strong-willed cat and certainly isn't afraid to make her views known. Look out, Mr. Right.

Chapter 2: The Carpet Bag

Ishmael arrives in New Bedford and is immediately disappointed that he has missed the ship to Nantucket. He has his heart set on starting his whaling journey in Nantucket, the "great original."

The next ship won't leave for a few days so he needs a place to stay. He wanders around a cold New Bedford night, practically broke, looking for a cheap inn. At one point, he accidentally walks in on a Black prayer service where "the preacher's text was about the blackness of darkness, and the weeping and wailing and teeth-gnashing there."

Finally, he finds "The Spouter-Inn" owned by Peter Coffin. He finds both names disconcerting. Curiously, as the chapter ends, he appears to start referring to himself as Lazarus as he contemplates spending the night there. Or perhaps he is using the name generically to refer to any person who might have to sleep at the inn.