I turned on the pillow with a little moan, and at this juncture Jeeves entered with the vital oolong. I clutched at it like a drowning man at a straw hat.
P. G. WodehouseRead
Cats, as a class, have never completely got over the snootiness caused by the fact that in ancient Egypt they were worshipped as gods. This makes them prone to set themselves up as critics and censors of the frail and erring human beings whose lot they share.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote humorously suggests that cats carry an air of superiority due to their historical reverence in ancient Egypt.
P. G. Wodehouse cleverly comments on the personality traits of cats, connecting their aloofness and critical demeanor to their status as revered beings in ancient Egypt. This playful observation highlights how such a background may lead cats to view themselves as somewhat superior to humans, critiquing our flaws with an air of entitlement.
Themes
CatsHumorSuperiorityAncient EgyptCriticism
In practice
Example use cases
In a humorous speech about pets and their personalities, you might use this quote to illustrate the cat's unique behavior.
More from P. G. Wodehouse
All quotes →While not exactly disgruntled, he was far from feeling gruntled. He spoke with a certain what-is-it in his voice, and I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled.
P. G. WodehouseRead
She fitted into my biggest arm-chair as if it had been built round her by someone who knew they were wearing arm-chairs tight about the hips that season
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It was a nasty look. It made me feel as if I were something the dog had brought in and intended to bury later on, when he had time.
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Memories are like mulligatawny soup in a cheap restaurant. It is wiser not to stir them.
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It was a confusion of ideas between him and one of the lions he was hunting in Kenya that had caused A. B. Spottsworth to make the obituary column. He thought the lion was dead, and the lion thought it wasn't.
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