What is the meaning of "Es el gato un mínimo tigre de salón"?

Question

I think this sentence,"Es el gato un mínimo tigre de salón" is from Neruda. The sentence has been used by Garcia Marquez as follows:

El incidente me conmocionó tanto, que escribí una nota para el domingo con un título usurpado a Neruda: Es el gato un mínimo tigre de salón? (Memorias de mis putas tristes, Garcia Marquez)

I don't get what he means by "mini-tiger from salon". Nonetheless, to my surprise, Google translates this sentence as: "Is the cat a minimum living tiger?" I am totally lost here!

Answer 1

When something is de salón, it means that the thing is designed to be placed in the living room (salón).

Thus, you have:

Mesa de salón (table designed specifically to be used in the living room).
Lámpara de salón (lamp designed specifically to be used in the living room).

And so we arrive to:

Tigre de salón (tiger designed specifically to be placed in the living room).

As Krauss said, the use of "minimum" is just a poetic license, giving the sense of the small tiger ever created.

Answer 2

In fact, Neruda is using this sentence in a poem entitled "Oda al gato". So, the closest translation would be:

Small tiger of the hall

Though the cat is a small animal, is as worthy as a tiger. So why did he used mínimo instead of another word? I believe because of rhythmic beauty.

Oh pequeño
emperador sin orbe,
conquistador sin patria,
mínimo tigre de salón, nupcial
sultán del cielo
de las tejas eróticas,
el viento del amor
en la intemperie
reclamas
cuando pasas
y posas
cuatro pies delicados
en el suelo,
oliendo,
desconfiando
de todo lo terrestre,
porque todo
es inmundo
para el inmaculado pie del gato. (frag.)

Answer 3

The two current answers are good, but I feel something is missing¹

As Carlos Alejo points, "de salón" means that it is to put into the living room. The living room is (and specially more in the old times) the room where a family would put its most delicate and expensive wares and stuff, for everyone visiting them to see. So this brings two additional ideas:

• the cat is pretty, precious.

• the cat is a domesticated being; you would not put a wild animal in your living room, as it was a risk for all your other precious stuff. This one idea contrasts with the image of the tiger.

Also, as for Krauss answer, I can not help thinking that with "mínimo" the author also plays with the "minino" word, which is a familiar term for "cat". Even if the only correct interpretation is that of Krauss answer, everytime I read the word "mínimo", in my mind it doubles the "cat" reference.

---

¹Not surprising, as poems and other lyric works are often way more difficult to fully interpret than other works and there is a very important subjective component.