 In her analysis of the fish , MacDonald asserts that it represents the voice of the children 's absent mother . Its conflict with the Cat , not only over the Cat 's uninvited presence but also their inherent predator @-@ prey relationship , provides the tension of the story . She points out that on the last page , while the children are hesitant to tell their mother about what happened in her absence , the fish gives a knowing look to the readers to assure them " that something did go on but that silence is the better part of valor in this case " . Alison Lurie agrees , writing , " there is a strong suggestion that they might not tell her . " She argues that , in the Cat 's destruction of the house , " the kids — and not only those in the story , but those who read it — have vicariously given full rein to their destructive impulses without guilt or consequences . " For a 1983 article , Geisel told Jonathan Cott , " The Cat in the Hat is a revolt against authority , but it 's ameliorated by the fact that the Cat cleans up everything at the end . It 's revolutionary in that it goes as far as Kerensky and then stops . It doesn 't go quite as far as Lenin . " 
