In the modern world there are a large number of different proverbs and sayings. And often in different cultures of the world one can find proverbs similar in meaning. The proverb to which the article is devoted is found in several languages of the world: English, Spanish, French, Polish, and, of course, in Russian.
Proverb "Cat from the house of the mouse to the dance": significance in different cultures of the world
In French, this proverb is as follows:
Absent le chat, les souris dansent.
But in English:
When the cat is not there, the mice are dancing.
The proverb "cat from the house of the mouse to the dance" has a similar meaning in three languages of the world: French, English and Russian.
In Spanish culture, the moral of this proverb has a different meaning. The meaning of the proverb in Spanish will be written below, and now you need to understand the main meaning of the proverb "cat from the house of the mouse to the dance."
Key meanings
At the moment, there are two main semantic meanings of this proverb. The first interpretation is based on the formation of order somewhere. It can be either a native home, or some kind of household company or an ordinary school class. It is understood that order exists in a certain social group, and it must be observed. But not everyone wants to do this. So, there must be someone who keeps order and punishes violators. This is the same cat. It is he who will be responsible for the order. But as soon as he absent himself for a short period of time, the whole system gets out of control. And the “mice” begin to do whatever comes to their mind. A large number of situations can be translated into this proverb. For example, as soon as a teacher leaves the classroom, the children begin to make noise. If the manager goes on vacation, his employees immediately relax, begin to be late for work, etc.
In the Polish language there is an analogue of this proverb - gdy kota nie ma, myszy harcują, which means “during the absence of a cat, mice prank”.
The second semantic meaning is more rude and unpleasant in relation to the cat. In this case, the cat acts as a kind of overseer, which always bothers everyone and bothers everyone. The mice here serve as victims. As soon as the cat is distracted and goes about his business, the mice feel free and do absolutely everything that only the soul desires. But before that, they must hide and obey the cat. For example, an overly strict leader who interferes with work by perpetual nit-picking. When such a boss goes on vacation, the situation in the team stabilizes, everyone sighs with relief.
The situation is actually no different from the one described above. The difference is solely in the emotional assessment. In the first case, order is good, and those who support it are doing a good job. In the second case, we are talking about tyranny, which everyone wants to get rid of.
The proverb meaning “cat from home, mouse to dance” in Spanish
In Spanish, the proverb is as follows: Gato de la casa del ratón en el baile.
In Spain, this saying implies the following thing: a cat is perceived as a mentor or teacher who unselfishly gives all kinds of advice and moralizing to his mice and teaches their lives. Sooner or later, the cat leaves, leaving the mice to their own devices. Those, in turn, begin to live as they please, or in other words, "start to dance."