Rat Catcher c. 18th century

Editor: This is "The Rat Catcher" by Philip Dawe, the date is unknown. The print depicts a figure with a kitten perched on their shoulder and a dead rodent hanging from their finger. What cultural symbols do you see in this image? Curator: The symbols here are quite potent. The rat catcher himself, with his tools and captured rodent, represents control over chaos, while the kitten symbolizes domesticity and, ironically, a natural predator of rats. Editor: So, it's about opposing forces existing in the same space? Curator: Precisely. And consider the implied audience; it speaks to a cultural anxiety about disease and disorder in 18th-century society. What does this contrast suggest to you? Editor: It makes me think about how society often uses symbols to both reassure and remind us of our fears. Thanks for helping me look at it that way! Curator: It’s fascinating how Dawe uses symbols to speak to our primal anxieties!