How does the author use imagery in the novel, The Women?

Throughout The Women, Luce's characters describe one another in terms of animal imagery. Animal imagery is a recurring motif, utilized to further express some of the central themes of the play. The predominant animal imagery in The Women is the comparison of women to cats. "Cattiness" is associated with competitive, malicious, vicious behavior in women's interactions with one another. The tussle between Sylvia and Miriam that takes place in Reno is regarded as a cat-fight. The cattiness of these characters is compared more to the behavior of a wild cat, such as a lion, tiger, or leopard, than a housecat, because of the fierceness with which the women compete with each other.

In the closing lines of the play, Crystal tells Mary, "you're just a cat like all the rest of us." Mary triumphantly replies that she has had two years to sharpen her claws, which are painted "Jungle Red." This statement is a culmination of the wild-cat imagery that recurrs in the play. Earlier on, Nancy had referred to "Jungle Red" nail polish, a popular color among this set, as "just the thing for clawing your friends apart." Luce's message is that the realm of competition between women to claim husbands operates according to the laws of the jungle, only the fiercest, most vicious, ruthless fighters win out in the end. Through the recurring motif of animal imagery, Luce portrays the realm of high society women as a primitive, animal-like struggle for money, men, and power.