Historical Context
Domestic Life in the 1950s
In 1955, when Cat on a Hot Tin Roof premiered, male and female
relationships were undergoing subtle shifts. This was a pre-feminist and
pre-gay rights period, with alternative lifestyles beginning to form, though
they were not yet publicly acknowledged. Social norms of the time dictated that
the only acceptable family structure was the traditional model of a mom, dad,
and two children, as depicted in television shows like Father Knows
Best. However, in reality, few American families actually embodied this
idealized version of domestic life.
During the 1950s, young people started to challenge societal expectations. Many experimented with drugs, fashion, dance, and language, pushing boundaries in a mild manner compared to the radical counterculture movement of the 1960s. Actor James Dean, who epitomized a disaffected and nonchalant attitude, starred in his two hit films, East of Eden and Rebel without a Cause, in 1955. Tragically, he died in a car accident at the age of 24 that September, instantly transforming him from a film star to a mythic icon. Emulating Dean's film characters, it became fashionable to smoke with a squint, don a black leather jacket, and maintain a detached, judgmental stance towards society.
The Beats
The year 1955 also marked a period of literary introspection, characterized by
black turtlenecks and alcohol—key symbols of the Beat Generation. However, this
movement included only a segment of mostly intellectual nonconformists. In
1955, poet Allen Ginsberg, at age 29, read "Howl" to a small but appreciative
audience in Berkeley, California. This poem would become a cornerstone of Beat
literature, alongside Jack Kerouac's On the Road, adding to the
"hipness" of literary arts with its jazz-influenced stream-of-consciousness
style. The term "Beat Generation" was introduced in a 1952 New York Times
Magazine article by John Clellon Holmes, a writer on the fringes of the
Beat movement. Holmes explained that for the Beat Generation, "the valueless
abyss of modern life is unbearable." This generation lived with the constant
awareness of the potential for nuclear disaster. Drinking and drug use were
common forms of temporary escape. Cynicism and idealism merged into a stance of
studied indifference, tinged with a sense of hopeful yearning.
Women in 1950s Culture
In the 1950s, most women donned constrictive girdles and embraced their roles
as homemakers. For a woman of this period to aspire to a career was rare, but
desiring both a career and a family was virtually unheard of. Society expected
women to choose between the two, and the majority opted for the suburban
lifestyle, with two children and a husband who worked, relying on his wife to
manage the household, prepare meals, and care for the children. Abortions were
available but difficult to obtain, especially since the procedure was illegal
in many U.S. states; furthermore, not wanting a child was viewed as a social
transgression. If a woman graduated from college, the expectation was that she
had found a husband there, not a career. Most women had children early in their
marriages and lives, remaining at home to raise them. If they were dissatisfied
with their situation, they had limited ways to voice their grievances; women
who felt restless were often labeled as "neurotic" and believed to need
psychological help. A child was frequently seen as a remedy for marital issues,
providing both parents with a shared focus and compelling them to confront
their realities and problems.
Style and Technique
Symbolism
Symbolism involves using objects to represent deeper concepts or ideas.
Williams has frequently faced criticism for his heavy use of symbolism in many
of his plays. In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , prominent symbols include the cat, the moon,...
(This entire section contains 707 words.)
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and Brick's crutch, as well as the themes of alcoholism and cancer.
In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, alcoholism and cancer are portrayed as ailments that reflect the spiritual decay of the characters. Brick turns to alcohol to suppress his feelings of guilt. However, the alcohol gradually enslaves him, mirroring how cancer slowly consumes his father. Alcoholism becomes a form of living death for its victims who drink to reach a state of oblivion, much like Brick. Ultimately, alcoholism, like cancer, leads to death.
Big Daddy did not choose to have cancer, but his illness symbolizes his life—seemingly robust on the outside but decaying within. Despite his outward success, his marriage and family life fall short of his financial achievements. His desire to celebrate life by draping a girl in mink and "humping her from hell to breakfast" feels hollow. He is now merely a shell filled with disease, much like his son who has built his own shell out of alcohol.
Brick's broken ankle symbolizes a form of castration, and he moves around the stage using a crutch. The noise and activity of the crutch highlight his frequent trips for more liquor. Throughout the first two acts, Brick drops or has his crutch taken from him at least five times. Both Maggie and Big Daddy withhold the crutch from him to get a promise or response, and Brick once refuses to sit with his mother, preferring to stay on his crutch. The crutch symbolizes the fragile support holding his emotional and spiritual self together, but it is clearly inadequate and easily toppled.
Brick distances himself from his family through alcohol and prefers the company of the cool, silent moon. Traditionally, the moon in literature often signifies madness, but in this play, it represents the quiet detachment that Brick seeks. However, his longing for the moon—serene yet cold and lifeless—is a form of madness as it signifies a withdrawal from life. In contrast, Maggie the Cat embodies a zest for life. Cats are resilient, self-reliant, and strategic. Brick reminds Maggie that a cat can fall from great heights and still land on its feet. Maggie, like an alley cat, is a survivor and offers to share her survival skills with Brick.
Setting
Several elements of the setting in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof warrant close
examination. The entire play unfolds in an upstairs bed-sitting room of the
Polliti plantation. This dual-purpose room serves both as a sleeping area and a
living space. This detail is significant because embracing one's sexuality and
living with it is a key theme of the play. Additionally, the room's decor, and
presumably the rest of the home, holds importance. In the "Notes for the [Set]
Designer," Williams describes the home as decorated in "Victorian with a touch
of the Far East." These styles are vastly different in the moods they convey.
The Victorian era is known for its outwardly strict morals. Women wore long
dresses covering them from neck to ankle, though these dresses often
highlighted and sometimes enhanced the bust and posterior. Although the play is
set after the Victorian era, this style choice intentionally evokes the rigid
morals and conflicting attitudes of that earlier period.
The inclusion of "a touch of the Far East" is another intentional decision. As Edward Said discussed in his 1978 book, Orientalism, the Far East has long been linked with sensuality and indulgence. Williams underscores the significance of the manor's decor through references to the pair of bachelors, presumably a homosexual couple, who previously owned and decorated the mansion. Williams notes in the set description that the room is "gently and poetically haunted by a relationship that must have involved a tenderness which was uncommon." He aimed for the scenery to evoke sensuality while also imparting a sense of dignity and grace to the subject. Moreover, the set has a dreamy, surrealistic quality achieved through soft lighting and a night sky in place of a ceiling, adding a timeless dimension.
Compare and Contrast
1955: In the United States, only 34% of women aged 20 to 54 work outside the home. Most married women rely on their husbands' or fathers' financial support and are expected to be full-time homemakers.
Today: Nearly 80% of women aged 20 to 54 are employed outside the home. Women and men now share almost equal wage earnings. In many households, both spouses work and share domestic responsibilities.
1955: Married women are expected to desire and have children. A woman who cannot have a child is often viewed by society as incomplete.
Today: Families now include various combinations of working parents who care for children. Having children is no longer a requirement for women, although many still feel biological and social pressure to do so.
1955: Society holds strict prejudices against open homosexuality. Gay men are forced to hide or suppress their sexual activities, leading to the term "in the closet."
Today: Although prejudice still exists, society is much more accepting and understanding of homosexual relationships. This openness has led many gay individuals to come "out of the closet" and publicly acknowledge their sexuality. Many have been inspired by famous role models such as singer Melissa Etheridge, actor Ellen DeGeneres, and politician Barney Frank.
Setting
Mississippi Delta
In the heart of the Mississippi Delta, a region renowned for its fertile soil and sprawling cotton plantations, lies the setting of Tennessee Williams’s play, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." This area, flanked by the mighty Mississippi River, is a land steeped in tradition, where family legacies are meticulously maintained and passed down through generations. The Pollitt family is emblematic of this tradition, with their plantation poised to be a generational inheritance. Yet, the transition is fraught with complications. Big Daddy Pollitt, the patriarch, is on his deathbed, wrestling with the decision of whether to leave the estate to his son Brick, who is entangled in a web of personal struggles.
Plantation House
The play unfolds primarily within the confines of the Pollitt's grand plantation house—a potent symbol of wealth and tradition. This grand abode, with its elegant architecture, features a bedroom that opens onto a sweeping veranda encompassing the second floor. The room, majestic in its design, reflects the stature of its occupants and serves as the play's central stage where familial dramas are enacted and secrets unveiled. It is within these walls that marriages are celebrated, yet it is also here that Maggie, Brick's wife, feels the sting of unrequited love. Her attempts to bridge the emotional chasm with Brick are met with resistance, leaving her ensnared in a luxurious yet oppressive space.
The Mississippi Delta and the plantation house together form a backdrop rich in thematic significance. These settings not only provide a physical space for the narrative but also enhance the dramatic tension through their cultural implications. The Delta's tradition of passing down legacies becomes a source of conflict, as Brick's inability to meet these expectations threatens the continuity of the Pollitt dynasty. Meanwhile, the plantation house serves as a metaphorical prison for Maggie, who, despite her surroundings of grandeur, finds herself in a relentless struggle for affection and recognition. In this complex interplay of setting and story, Tennessee Williams masterfully captures the essence of southern tradition and the human condition.
Adaptations
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was turned into a film in 1958 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The screenplay, co-written by James Poe, was directed by Richard Brooks. The film stars Paul Newman as Brick, Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie, and Burl Ives, who reprises his stage role, as Big Daddy. Both Newman and Taylor earned Academy Award nominations for their roles. Many critics regard Taylor's portrayal of Maggie the Cat as the definitive version. This adaptation is available on videotape from MGM/GBS Home Video.
In 1976, Laurence Olivier took on the role of Big Daddy, with Maureen Stapleton as Big Mama. The real-life married couple Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood played Brick and Maggie. This version was directed by Robert Moore.
Jessica Lange played Maggie in a 1984 television adaptation that also featured David Dukes as Gooper, Tommy Lee Jones as Brick, and Rip Torn as Big Daddy. This production can be found on home video from MGM and Vestron.
Bibliography
Sources
Ashton, Roger. "Correspondence Back on a Hot Tin Roof" in the New
Republic, April 25, 1955, p. 23.
Atkinson, Brooks. "Williams's Tin Roof" in the New York Times, April 3, 1955.
Bentley, Eric. "Tennessee Williams and New York Kazan" in the New Republic, reprinted in Bentley's What Is Theatre? McLelland and Stewart, 1968, pp. 224-31.
Hatch, Robert. Review of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the Nation, April 9, 1955, pp. 314-15.
Hayes, Richard. Review of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in Commonweal, June 3, 1955, pp. 250-51.
Kerr, Walter. "A Secret Half-Told in Fountains of Words" in the New York Herald Tribune, April 3, 1955, sec. 4, p. 1.
Mannes, Marya. "The Morbid Magic of Tennessee Williams" in the Reporter, May 15, 1955, pp. 41-42.
Nelson, Benjamin. Tennessee Williams: The Man and His Work, Obolensky, 1961.
Ross, Don. "Williams in Art and Morals: An Anxious Foe of Untruth" in the New York Herald Tribune, March 3, 1957, sec. 4, pp. 1-2.
Said, Edward. Orientalism, Pantheon, 1978.
Simon, John. "A Cat of Many Colors" in New York, August 12, 1974, pp. 48-49.
Waters, Arthur B. "Tennessee Williams: Ten Years Later" in Theatre Arts, July, 1955, pp. 72-73, 96.
Watts, Richard. "The Impact of Tennessee Williams" in the New York Post, March 25, 1955, p. 57.
Further Reading
Crandall, George W. The Critical Response to Tennessee Williams,
Greenwood Press, 1996.
This book includes full-text reprints of newspaper and magazine reviews of
Williams's works.
Devlin, Albert J. Conversations with Tennessee Williams, University
Press of Mississippi, 1985.
A compilation of interviews spanning forty years, discussing topics from
Williams's advice to young writers to his struggles with drugs and alcohol.
Spoto, Donald. The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee
Williams, Little, Brown, 1985.
A comprehensive and scholarly biography of Williams, analyzing the connection
between his troubled life and his equally intense drama.
Williams, Tennessee. Memoirs, Doubleday, 1975.
An autobiography detailing Williams's personal life, including his sexual
experiences. This book provides useful context for much of his work as a
playwright.
