Sexual Repression
The central theme that drives the entire narrative of Cat People is how sexual desire that is repressed eventually bubbles to the surface and can explode in a number of ways. The sublimation of Irena’s sexuality into becoming a ravenous big cat capable of murder sets the stage for another underlying theme of the movie related to the concerted ambiguity of the portrayal of Irena’s feline side.
Science v. Religion
Sublimation of sexuality is Freudian psychological concept and it is up for a heady critique in the film. Dr. Lewis Judd represents the scientific approach to getting at the true cause of Irena’s sexual repression. For Irena, her willful frigidity traces directly to an ancient ancestral curse originating in sacrilege and that can only be tamed through Christian iconography. That the film takes the side of religion can be fairly interpreted from the fact that those using such iconography survive the wrath of the cat while Dr. Judd’s belief in psychological reasoning ultimately makes him a victim.
Romantic Rivalry
At the heart of the plot of the Cat People is the ancient theme of romantic rivalry. Irena and Alice are immediately situated as polar opposites: exotic v. All-American, brunette v. blonde, crazy v. normal, etc. Both are in love with Oliver and it is Irena’s growing jealousy toward Alice that is the catalyst for the curse that turns her into a cat.
Xenophobia
An odd and extremely subtle theme running through Cat People is that of fear or suspicion of foreigners and their foreign ways. Almost immediately, Oliver mistakes Irena for being Russian and is quickly corrected to learn that she is Serbian. Late, Oliver notably orders good old-fashioned America apple pie and rejects the quaintly exotic chicken gumbo. Alice views the European introductory tradition of kissing the hand as incongruously out of place in decent American society.
