The Catbird Seat

Mr. Martin buys cigarettes, even though he does not smoke. He intends to use them to throw the detectives off his trail after they find Mrs. Barrows’s body. The cigarettes represent Mr. Martin’s willingness to act out of character in order to resolve the situation with Mrs. Barrows. When he puts them in his coat, he wonders “if they did not represent an unnecessary note of strain” (3). They also represent his apprehension about getting caught. He plans on smoking one of the cigarettes after killing Mrs. Barrows and then stubbing it out in her ashtray. However, if the cigarette makes him choke, or if it takes more time to smoke than he planned on, it could put him at greater risk of being caught.

To be “sitting in the catbird seat” is an idiom meaning to be in a position of superiority; when two people or groups are dealing with each other, sitting in the catbird seat means to have the advantage. In “The Catbird Seat,” Mr. Martin singles out the phrase—often used by Mrs. Barrows—as evidence of her undignified way of speaking. However, before Mr.