that the worm has well and truly turned and that Erwin is now firmly in the catbird seat.

James Thurber explores two of his usual themes in the hilarious short story, "The Catbird Seat." One of the themes is the Battle of the Sexes--in this case, the reversal of roles between men and women. As in many of Thurber's stories, the woman is the dominant character, and the man is the weakling. Such is the case with Erwin Martin and Ulgine Barrows. Barrows is the strong-minded woman who smokes, drinks, loves baseball and laughs too loud; Martin is the milquetoast man who doesn't smoke or like sports and prefers milk. In the end, as usual with Thurber, the weaker of the sexes--the man--finds a way to overcome the strengths of the woman.

A second theme is that of alienation and loneliness. Although both of the characters are single, Barrows enjoys an active social life, and it is her outgoing personality that has helped her to ascend to a higher position in the company. A predictable and never-changing loner, Martin has remained stagnant at his position, and he is perfectly content with his job--until Barrows' appearance threatens his own security. Luckily for Martin, he is able to recognize his own weaknesses and, in the end, he uses them to turn the tables on his nemesis.

There are many different opinions as to the main purpose of the story, so it's important to evaluate as many of them as possible before arriving at your own conclusions. My own personal take on "The Catbird Seat" is that it shows the dangers of rapid change.

Ulgine Barrows has come along and systematically set about turning the venerable old company of F&S upside-down, irrespective of the wishes of those who work there. There may be an element of misogyny here in that male employees like Erwin Martin can't handle the thought of working for a woman. But one senses that the company's employees would be up in arms at such rapid change to their corporate culture even if it were being carried out by a male executive. In any case, Mrs. Barrows has gone too far, and much too fast. Change is inevitable, but not at such a breakneck pace. As well as damaging the company, Mrs. Barrows ends up damaging herself and her own credibility.

The purpose of any story is to reflect the author's message about life or the human condition, but some stories are written to entertain the reader.

One of the most important themes of this story is the age-old struggle of men and women to understand one another. Many of Thurber's stories explore this theme in a couple's marriage, but this story takes place in the workplace of the two main characters. Another difference in this story is that the traditional roles of men and women are reversed. Mrs. Barrows is depicted as more masculine than Martin in that she smokes, drinks, and likes baseball. She is a woman who exhibits a commanding presence. Martin is the total opposite of her, portraying a meek, timid, quiet man. An integral part of the battle-of-the-sexes theme is Thurber's belief that all people are essentially alone, unable to communicate with either men or women. We see this at the end when Martin, who has won out over Mrs. Barrows, is unable to celebrate his victory with anyone because he's totally alone.

In this story about a meek, mild-mannered obsessive-compulsive man who sees his neat, ordered world that he loves falling apart due to a woman who is his polar opposite.  Mr. Martin fears that his job is about to be eliminated from the company where he works because Mrs. Barrows, a corporate re-organizer, doesn't see him as necessary.  In this way, there is a conflict between the two of them.  Martin has to figure a way to discredit Mrs. Barrows.  He hits upon the perfect plan - kill her.  When he can't find a murder weapon, he hits upon an even more diabolical plan - make her appear to be crazy.  Everyone knows Martin is a man who is addicted to his very conservative ways.  He never drinks or smokes.  He does all this and more in front of Mrs. Barrows, and then says he is going to blow up the boss, so the next day when she tells everyone about what she saw and heard, she is relieved of her position because she is believed to be crazy.  A theme shown by could be expressed: don't assume because someone looks like an easy mark, that he is.  Sometimes, it really is the quiet ones who are the most surprising.

You may have noticed that the eNotes editors who originally wrote the summary guides for James Thurber's "The Catbird Seat" gave two different thematic outlines for the story: "Men and Women" and "Alienation and Loneliness." I think they are good summaries.

MEN AND WOMEN. Many of Thurber's stories have to do with life's little battles between men and women ("The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," for example). Such is the case with "The Catbird Seat." Perhaps a secondary theme would be that of role reversal. Mr. Martin and Mrs. Barrows are drawn by Thurber with their typical male-female roles reversed: Mrs. Barrows is the loud, sports-loving boss; Martin is the quiet, milk-drinking office subordinate. When she makes accusations against Martin, they are discounted because his milquetoast personality and routines make the charges against him impossible to believe. In this story, Thurber's male character triumphs against female authority--not always the case in Thurber's literary world.

ALIENATION AND LONELINESS. Like many of Thurber's characters, both Martin and Barrows have trouble dealing with other people. Both live alone and each seem to prefer it that way. Their limited social lives revolve around work hours, and Martin is barely noticed after more than two decades with the company. However, he is content with his near anonymity. When Barrows advances quickly, Martin becomes jealous. Her masculine nature angers him, and he hates that she stands out because of her more outgoing personality. After she is gone, Martin summises, he can return to his quiet ways and peaceful work days.