Those Who Believe in Absolutes Don't Know Catwoman

It is somewhat blasphemous to a DC Comictician when people out there keep insisting that there are absolutes when it comes to good and evil.

Selena Kyle, better known as the Cat or Catwoman, tells us differently.

The Catwoman has always struggled with the concepts of right and wrong and usually achieves neither in absolute terms during her quests for self-knowledge in the City of Gotham, nor does she care. And I tell here you today, that it is not fair to say that she only does what's right for herself in a hedonistic sense or that she is some sort of moral relativist- though it may seem that way sometimes to those less familiar with the DC scriptures.

We must remember that Selena Kyle took a serious blow to the head, which caused her some serious memory and identity issues. A mere mortal would have been unable to cope with all this, but the Cat took her experience and put it to work robbing precious jewelery and artifacts, while occasionally helping her arch-nemesis, partner, enemy, friend, and lover; the Batman, foil the Joker or some other criminal's master plan.

Now Batman, himself, also illustrates an example of a superhero who seems to struggle with right and wrong on occasion. But he's just plain fuckin' crazy sometimes and whether or not his crime fighting methods always meet with the approval of Gotham's police force, the Bat does think of himself as a vigilante for justice and believes himself to be protector of Gotham City's law-abiding citizens. Catwoman, on the other hand, would never make such a bold claim because it is clear that there are no absolutes when it comes to such broad concepts as justice and what exactly constitutes a law-abiding citizen.

So when you think things are simple; that moral issues only come in black and white or that good and evil can be easily defined, remember the Cat and the lessons she tries to teach us. With her guidance, perhaps we can come to terms with some of the very complicated issues that exist in this world and others. If we could all take a few minutes out of our busy day to listen, we might just hear the Catwoman roar.

Tags:
Catwoman, Absolutes, The Cat, Selena Kyle