Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock Questions

I came across this poem while chatting about legendary poets with a friend, but I just couldn't figure out what the yellow smoke signifies... Does anyone else know?
I love this poem, I just wish I could understand it better!

Do you mean this part?

Quote:

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The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes

---

Personally, my interpretation is;
A.) Yellow smoke sounds very dreary, and contributes to the feelings of hopelessness and depression that seem part of this poem. Apparently, Eliot grew up in St. Louis which I guess was a polluted city in the late 19th and early 20th century.

B.) the imagery of something rubbing it's back along window panes and all the rest sounds like something a cat would do. Is Prufrock like this cat in the sense that he "looks" through windows at parties instead of being an active participant? Does he give up and "go to sleep" instead of taking a chance on expressing his feelings (and perhaps braving rejection) ?

C.) I don't know, I am tired at the moment and this analysis can probably be done better by someone else. :)

I think Kathy has identified most of the meanings. I would also add that the way the imagery goes from smoke to cat adds a feel to the poem that I would describe as metaphysical. In a way it identifies the poetry with the metaphysical poets. The transition from smoke to cat may be the first time someone has ever used "morphing" as a technique.

The "yellow fog" is probably smog, and Eliot makes it seem as a living creature; my personal interpretation is that he uses it to convey Prufrock's own listlessness--looking in (as if) through windows, then giving up.

The city in question seems much more likely to be London, famous for its "pea-soup" fog, than St. Louis; the entire poem seems Old World and, in a nearly biological sense, degenerate in its fear of life--far removed from the sense most people had then of Mark Twain's city on the Mississippi. As for the imagery, this cat-like fog certainly seems more at home in the world, and more the object of the poet's affection, than does Mr. Prufrock. And whereas the fog certainly will have "time", all the time it wants, the sense seems to be that Prufrock will not.

I was taught in school it was a Cat, though I could see it being a bear or something of the sort as well...