For all of Macavitys friends on FB- he is named for the most well known of the cats in TS Eliots poem Old Possums Book of Practical cats, inspiration for the musical CATS. Here is his full biography, courstesy of Wikipedia ... Macavity (also called the Mystery Cat, the Hidden Paw and Napoleon of Crime) is a master criminal, but in the poem he is too clever to leave any evidence of his guilt. There is a resemblance with Professor James Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. In a letter to Frank Morley, Eliot wrote, I have done a new cat modeled on the late Professor Moriarty, but he doesnt seem very popular; too sophisticated perhaps.[3] Sherlock Holmes describes Moriarty as the Napoleon of Crime in The Adventure of the Final Problem and a Napoleon gone wrong in The Valley of Fear. The idea that Macavity was Moriarty was first revealed by HT Webster and HW Starr (Macavity: An Attempt to Unravel His Mystery, 1954), an identification rediscovered by Katharine Loesch.[4] According to the poem, even when the Secret Service decides that Macavity was behind a loss, they cant get him there as hes a mile away. Doyle wrote that Moriarty is never caught as at moment of crime he probably is working out problems on a blackboard ten miles away (The Adventure of the Final Problem). Macavity is described as being a ginger cat who is very tall and thin with sunken eyes, and sways his head from side to side with movements like a snake. The poem also says: His brow is deeply lined in thought, his head is highly domed; His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed. Once again, this description is a close parallel to that of Professor Moriarty: His appearance was quite familiar to me. He is extremely tall and thin, his forehead domes out in a white curve, and his two eyes are deeply sunken in his head...his face protrudes forward and is forever oscillating from side to side in a curiously reptilian fashion. (The Adventure of the Final Problem) The poem accuses Macavity of misbehaviour that would be within the capabilities of an ordinary cat, such as stealing milk, but also holds him responsible for major crimes. He is referred to as a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity and has been suspected of stifling Pekes, vandalism, theft, cheating at cards, espionage and controlling an organized crime ring with Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer and Griddlebone among the members. Holmes in Doyles narrative describes Moriarty as the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 14:24:08 +0000
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