Cathy. The heroine of East of Eden remained misunderstood by the whole world – even by Steinbeck himself. The demon whose heart manages to discern even the faintest glimmers of light when the eyes are blind and the mind is powerless. One of the greatest characters in literature, who has surpassed her own creator.

From a very young age, Cathy has been completely unfeeling. Within her lies an abyss that destroys both happiness and sorrow. Nothing can reach her frozen heart, and she simply exists. But despite her twisted emptiness, she feels something within her that is stronger than anything else – the urge for freedom.

To achieve freedom, Cathy must fight the whole world and, far more difficult, herself. The first step is leaving home. She knows that her calling is not to be one of those good, honest girls you just want to slap in the face, and she puts an end to the meaningless charade. Cathy’s parents oppose her and even lock her up against her will to turn her into a spineless version of herself. Then she burns them alive and leaves her hometown forever. I’m sure many readers have thought of her as cruel at this point. She is. But can you really do anything cruel enough to someone who dared to stand in the way of your freedom? Of course not. She feels no sadness, nor does she regret her actions, but that only proves that darkness cannot touch her emotions.

The next trial is marriage – the false mask of mediocre love that Adam Trask wears with unimaginable pride. Cathy knows she doesn’t want that. For her, marriage is merely a temporary stop along the way as she pursues the unknown. She doesn’t love Adam, but at least she’s honest with him and tells him so to his face. Cathy makes no secret of her intention to leave him, but he refuses to listen, determined to live in his soap bubble. Years go by and Cathy gives birth to two sons, but that doesn’t change her desire to leave. One day, Kathy realizes the time has come and packs her bags. Adam tries to stop her, and she shoots him, then leaves for good. What a bitch! Right? Or maybe she’s just a strong-willed person.

Only an ordinary person is content with what anyone can have. Deep down, Cathy feels she wasn’t meant to raise the children of a loser. I’m sure the author has managed to stir up sympathy for Adam in many of you, but he certainly didn’t manage to do so in me. Adam uses the word “love” when in reality he’s simply afraid of being alone. Can you really love someone whose soul you’ve never seen? His love is just a word, and he never makes an effort to see the true essence of his “beloved.” He’s a dull man who’s too weak to love.

Of course, you can judge Cathy for abandoning her children if that makes you feel better. But what’s the point of taking care of sons she doesn’t love? A person can love for the sake of air, fire, earth, and water, but never for the sake of blood. To love for the sake of blood is simply another way of saying you don’t love.

Cathy throws away the life of a woman with a wealthy husband and a mother of two children and chooses to become a prostitute. What a fall from grace! Oh, no, wait… Maybe that wasn’t the right word… Ah, yes! I meant to say: What a character! To give up everything that is easy and comfortable for the sake of the unknown. To throw yourself off the top only to fall to the bottom. Very few have the courage to do that. But whoever is afraid to fall is also afraid to fly. Cathy willingly abandons the security of a structured life to venture into worlds shrouded in mystery.

Once freed from social norms, an exciting new world opens up before the main character. Cathy quickly bonds with the owner of the home, and the elderly lady begins to think of Cathy as her own daughter. But there is still nothing in Cathy’s eyes. Not a single moan reaches her heart, and her soul is like a barren desert. Cathy poisons the owner the moment she ensures that the woman will leave her the inheritance. She revels in her power over the young girl and quickly begins to reshape reality to her own liking. Kati’s brothel becomes a gloomy and sinister place where men in high social positions indulge their basest passions. But despite everything, power is not the answer Cathy is so desperately seeking.

As time goes by, Cathy grows old and falls ill. Living in pain and utter loneliness, she sinks into despair, convinced that life will never offer her the purpose she has longed for. But just then, her sons find her. In Caleb, she discovers the emptiness she herself carries. Aron is pure love. And then her heart begins to beat for the first time. She understands that no one could love someone like her and realizes that the struggle is worth it only when the reward is beauty. This is precisely where she reaches her personal peak. It’s easy to choose love when it’s all around you, but to choose it when you’ve never seen it is something only a superhuman would do. Although she shows no obvious preference for either of them, she leaves her entire inheritance to Aron.

Despite all the harm she has caused the people in her life, in the end she makes the noblest choice. No one harbors such terrifying demons within themselves as she does, and yet she is the one who manages to defeat them. The rest is irrelevant. A soul woven from darkness feels the light more intensely than anyone else. A demon who had the strength to fall in love with an angel. A person brave enough to fight for freedom at any cost. Cathy.