Grizabella

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Grizabella is the "Glamour Cat" in the musical production Cats. She does not appear in T. S. Eliot's work, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, but is a prominent character in the stageplay.

Grizabella is, at the time of her appearance, a very old cat, withered by her age to the point that she no longer resembles the proud, carefree, flamboyant dancer of her youth. Her fellow Jellicles, especially the younger females, are quite jealous of Grizabella and hence sadistically pleased to see her in a disheveled condition.

Possibly because of this jealousy, it is Grizabella whom Old Deuteronomy consigns to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn. During her change, Grizabella sings the song "Memory", which has been thought of by audiences as a very emotionally touching, profound, and even mysterious composition.

Another interpretation of Grizabella's past is that she left the Jellicle tribe to explore the outside world, despite knowing that she would never be allowed back in. The other cats (except some of the kittens, who trust her) shun her for leaving them, despite that she wants to be with them again. After several attempts to gain their acceptance, Grizabella's emotional appeal (represented by "Memory") is accepted; seeing how much that she suffered, she is chosen to be reborn.

The name Grizabella is probably derived from "grizzle" which means either "grey" or "disheveled", and "belle" which means "beauty". Hence "Grizabella"; "The grey beauty" or "the disheveled beauty".