Porcelain Cats: A Symbol of Loneliness and Obligation
Literal Description and First Appearance
In The Impossible Fortune, porcelain cats are a collection of dozens of ceramic cat figurines that fill the dining room of Jasper, a retired MI6 bomb expert. They come in absurd poses—cats playing snooker, riding tandems, singing carols, or smoking marijuana joints. Jasper keeps them on display even though he “can’t bear them.” The cats first appear in Chapter 18, when Joyce and Elizabeth visit Jasper’s bungalow in Purley to examine photographs of a bomb. Joyce notices a large ginger cat guarding the front door and soon sees “maybe fifty or so” inside.
Recurrence and Changing Meaning
The cats recur in Chapter 26, when Joyce and Elizabeth return to Jasper’s with a charred SIM card from the murdered Holly Lewis. Again Joyce is “stared at … by the many, many porcelain cats.” This time Joyce learns that Jasper acquired them over decades from well-meaning relatives—an aunt who started the tradition, his wife who encouraged it, and others who gave a cat every Christmas and birthday. Jasper keeps them only because he fears offending the givers, even though only one cousin in New Zealand is still alive. The cats have become a suffocating symbol of politeness and obligation.
Later, in Chapter 74, Joyce writes in her journal that the story is not about codes or money but about “one lonely man with too many cat ornaments.” She plans to return to Purley with a teapot and milk, showing that the cats have spurred her resolve to offer genuine human connection.
The meaning shifts from a quirky collection to a poignant emblem of emotional paralysis. Initially the cats seem like harmless kitsch; then they become a burden Jasper never chose. By Chapter 74 they represent the quiet, untold stories of loneliness that Joyce, through her empathy, wants to address.
Character Connections
Jasper – The cats directly embody his loneliness and inability to reconnect after retirement. Jasper lives alone, wears mismatched clothes (bow tie with tracksuit trousers or corduroys), has a calendar with only “BINS” written each Wednesday, and admits he has never learned to dress or shop properly. When Joyce suggests packing the cats away, he asks, “Who would come?” His identity has been reduced to a collection of objects he hates but cannot discard. The cats also reflect his professional past: he is an expert on bombs, yet he surrounds himself with fragile, harmless figurines—a contrast between a life of danger and a hollow retirement.
Joyce Meadows – Joyce is the catalyst for the cats’ transformation. In Chapter 18 she hugs Jasper goodbye and resolves to come back. In Chapter 26 she insists they pack the cats into cardboard boxes, telling Elizabeth, “Until this room is clear, you and I will be putting porcelain cats into cardboard boxes.” Joyce sees past the investigation to the human need for connection. Her act of packing is not about tidiness but about freeing Jasper from a self-imposed prison of obligation. She then brings him a teapot and plans further visits, showing that small kindnesses can counteract deep isolation.
Elizabeth Best – Elizabeth is initially impatient with Joyce’s detour. She is focused on the murder lead (the name Jill Usher) and sees the cats as a distraction. Yet she eventually helps pack, and her presence alongside Joyce signals that friendship can reawaken even a retired spy’s sense of purpose. The cats also echo Elizabeth’s own journey: she is re-engaging with the world after grieving Stephen, and visiting Jasper reminds her of the “old gang” she has lost.
Thematic Links
Loneliness and Emotional Burden – The cats are a physical manifestation of retirement without genuine connection. Jasper has no visitors except the occasional MI6 invitation; his home is filled with objects that recall relationships no longer alive. The cats are a burden he carries out of a sense of duty to dead relatives. This relates to the broader theme of loneliness in old age, shown also in characters like Ibrahim and, indirectly, Lord Townes.
Grief and Reawakening – Jasper’s collection is a form of arrested grief: he cannot let go of the past, even of gifts he dislikes. Joyce’s intervention mirrors Elizabeth’s reawakening. By helping Jasper clear his dining room, Joyce helps him imagine a future with bookshelves and dinner parties. The cats thus connect to the theme of grief and reawakening, particularly Joyce’s own process after losing her husband Gerry.
Trust and Deception – Jasper’s cats hide a deeper truth: he pretends to appreciate them. This small deception mirrors larger ones in the plot (e.g., Joanna’s lie about climbing, Paul’s secret investment, the characters who hide their motives). The cats remind the reader that obligated politeness can mask real isolation. Explore this further on the trust and deception page.
Family Loyalty and Protection – Jasper’s decision to keep the cats out of loyalty to his aunt and wife, though they are dead, echoes the protective loyalty other characters show (e.g., Ron protecting Suzi, Elizabeth protecting Nick Silver). The cats show how family loyalty can become a weight when it lacks reciprocity. See family loyalty and protection.
Crime and Morality – The cats are a moral counterpoint to the bomb plot and the Bitcoin heist. While the criminals chase fortune and power, Jasper hoards meaningless objects out of misplaced kindness. The novel suggests that true morality lies in small acts of compassion, not in grand schemes. This is developed in crime and morality.
Study Questions
1. Why does Jasper keep the porcelain cats despite hating them?
Jasper keeps them because he received them as gifts from relatives and worries that if he removes them, the givers might be offended. Even after his wife dies and only one cousin remains alive (in New Zealand), he cannot bring himself to discard them. The cats represent his inability to assert his own preferences and his fear of disappointing others, which has left him trapped in a home that does not feel like his own.
2. What does Joyce’s decision to pack the cats reveal about her character?
Joyce sees Jasper’s loneliness immediately and chooses to act. She brings empty cardboard boxes, insists Elizabeth help, and asks Jasper to make tea—a small act that gives him purpose. Her empathy goes beyond solving the murder; she cares about the “quiet corners” of people’s lives. This moment shows that Joyce values human connection above crime-solving, reinforcing her role as the emotional heart of the Thursday Murder Club.
3. How do the porcelain cats connect to the theme of loneliness in The Impossible Fortune?
The cats physically fill Jasper’s home but do not provide real companionship. They are a substitute for human relationships: each cat represents a past interaction, but none of them can respond to Jasper’s present isolation. His calendar is empty, his mugs are charity-shop finds, and he has no one to invite over. The cats symbolize the way lonely people often accumulate objects to mask an absence of genuine connection, a theme echoed in characters like Ibrahim and even Lord Townes’s empty mansion.
4. What is the significance of Joyce’s return visit to Jasper in Chapter 74?
In her journal, Joyce writes that the real story is about “one lonely man with too many cat ornaments.” She plans to bring a teapot and milk from the Sue Ryder charity shop, continuing the process of making Jasper’s home feel lived-in. The return visit shows that Joyce’s intervention has lasting effect; she is not just tidying a room but building a friendship. The teapot, unlike the cats, is a gift that invites sharing tea and conversation—a genuine replacement for the hollow obligation the cats represented. This closure mirrors the novel’s emphasis on small acts of kindness as the antidote to loneliness.
Why This Symbol Matters
The porcelain cats appear in only a few chapters, yet they crystallize one of the novel’s central concerns: the hidden loneliness of retired people and the emotional burden of maintaining appearances. By having Joyce pack them away, Richard Osman suggests that liberation from obligation is possible through empathy and action. The cats are not a grand metaphor but a quiet, everyday object that reveals how the characters—especially Joyce—choose to see and respond to need. For readers, the cats are a memorable image that lingers long after the bomb plot and heist are resolved.