The main character in Cat's Eye is an aspiring artist named Elaine Risley. Both Rennie and Elaine are dominated by obsessions with their pasts. The importance of memories and the perception of time become significant. Rennie is infatuated with two main things. The more dominant one is her former boyfriend Jake. The other one is her diagnoses of breast cancer and recent surgery for it. Throughout the entire novel, Rennie has had several chances to become involved with several men, but she does not. She finds it difficult and virtually impossible to lose remembrance of her beloved Jake. She is also reluctant to expose a scar that she got from the surgery she had earlier. Rennie is unable to let go of both of these things, which lead to her unhealthy obsessions with them. Likewise, in Cat's Eye, Elaine has only one main obsession. This obession is with her childhood friend who later became her bully. Elaine had a generally rough childhood as her family was financially unstable and was forced to travel frequently. Despite all of that, Elaine's obsession is with a girl named Cordelia. Cordelia was Elaine's childhood friend who became her bully, as they both got older. Cordelia tormented her, mocked her, and made her feel like an outcast, which eventually scarred her. Since her childhood, Elaine has been incapable of forgetting about Cordelia. Even as an adult, she constantly thinks about her and their childhood together. Due to these memories, both women are unable to move forward with their lives. The obsessions affect their careers, their relationships, and practically every aspect of their lives. For example, many of Elaine's paintings are of Cordelia. Another example is that Rennie constantly compares all men to Jake. Furthermore, both women have scars. The only difference is that Rennie's scar is external caused by surgery and Elaine's is an internal scar caused by the years of torment. Although different in cause and nature, both these scars serve one identical purpose in which it is significant for the constant reminder and symbol of both the pain caused by their past.