Elaine’s current husband, and the father of her daughter Anne. Ben works as a travel agent and can get easy trips for his family. He is portrayed as simple and old-fashioned—he meets Elaine at a grocery store, and courts her in an archaic manner. Nevertheless, she loves him, as he represents an attractive sense of simplicity and order.
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Ben Character Timeline in Cat’s Eye
The timeline below shows where the character Ben appears in Cat’s Eye. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part Two: Silver Paper
...has an unreal landscape, like that of a greeting card. She lives with her husband, Ben, who runs a travel agency. She has two daughters, Sarah and Anne, and thinks about...
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...Sarah’s graduation. They stole away to get lunch and “got plastered,” which confused her husband, Ben, as she used to call that relationship a disaster. She likens the relationship to a...
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Part Three: Empire Bloomers
...with herself. She “felt the nothingness coming on” last night, so she tried to call Ben; however, their answering machine was on, and she heard her own voice instead. She gets...
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Part Seven: Our Lady of Perpetual Help
...present, Elaine buys a slice of pizza and returns to the studio. She tries calling Ben, but he’s in Mexico. It’s dark outside, so she crawls back into bed. She looks...
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Part Eight: Half a Face
Elaine remembers going to Mexico with Ben on their first trip together, before she knew that their relationship was going to be...
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Part Twelve: One Wing
...off, for the comfort of it. Elaine does not feel she is being disloyal to Ben, only loyal to something that predates him; she also knows she will never do it...
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...balance relationships with her life as a single parent to Sarah. One day, Elaine meets Ben at the supermarket. She finds him simple and romantic, and he takes her to Mexico...
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