"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee Williams
Pictures: Top: Tennessee Williams; Left: Paul Newman & Elizabeth Taylor as "Brick and Maggie".
Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, Mississippi in 1911. his full name is Thomas Lanier Williams III, and he got his nickname in college due to his Southern accent and father's home state. His family's fortune was lost by his grandfatehr; his father C.C. was a traveling salesman (ironic) and a heavy drinker. His mother Edwina was a clergyman's daughter and suffered from hysteria. He has an older sister, Rose, and younger brother Dakin. The family moved to St. Louis where dad's drinking increased; they then moved 16 times in 10 years. Williams was shy and fragile, unpopular in school. He became close to Rose, and she was the inspiration for Laura in "The Glass Menagerie". Rose was mentally ill and even underwent a lobotomy, which left her institutionalized, and traumatized Williams.
He was just an average student; he turned to film and writing for comfort. At 16, he earned his first publishing credit; it was an answer to the question, "Can a good wife be a good sport"; they next year he published a horror story, and the next, he entered the University of Missouri as a Journalism major; it was there that he wrote his first plays. However, his father was outraged that his son did not get into teh ROTC program and forced him to withdraw from school to go to work at a shoe company. He did this for 3 years and was close to insanity. He returned to college at Washington University in St. Louis; 2 of his plays were produced. He left when Rose got sick, but he eventually graduated in 1938. He wandered after that, continuing to write drama, and received a Rockefeller grant to study at the New School in New York. During the early years of WWII, he worked as a scriptwriter in NY.
He began working on "Menagerie" in 1941; it was staged in 1944. Good reviews led to its popularity, and it moved to broadway in 1945 and won the "Critics' Circle Award".
"Menagerie" is an intensely personal, autobiographical play that would earn Williams fortune, fame, and respect. Williams went on to win another Critics' Circle Award AND the Pulitzer Prize for his masterpiece "A Streetcar Named Desire"... and he repeated those two prizes again in 1955 for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". Williams felt the burdens of fame; he became a household name. He dealt with alcoholism, depression, and loneliness. He was also openly homosexual in an "era and culture unfriendly" to homosexuals, which greatly affected his life and work. He eventaully turned to drugs. When his partner died in 1961, he became depressed and eventaully entered a psychiatric facility. He would continue to write, but not up to the same quality as he had before. He wrote hundreds of stories, 25 plays, screenplays, etc... 5 of his plays were turned into films. He died from choking (albeit drug-related) in 1983.
"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a brilliant play about a "dysfunctional family that is forced to deal with hidden deceptions and hypocrisy". The play was directed by the infamous Elia Kazan. The themes of the play transcend time, and the play remains one of the most poignant works of drama-- EVER produced.
Kazan and Williams disagreed over the third act, and Kazan had Williams rewrite it. The basis was this: 1. Kazan saw Big Daddy as an important figure who should play a bigger part in the third act rather than disappear from the play; 2. Brick should undergo some apparant mutation as a result of his discussion with Big Daddy in Act. 2; 3. He wanted Maggie to be more clearly sympathtic to her audience. They also debated over the casting of the play.
One unique aspect of the play is that the foundation of the play is a series of CONVERSATIONS; the characters appear to be "real" and vital-- and entertaining. They don't preach or condescend, and we can all recognize aspects of the characters in our friends, families, and in ourselves... they are easily identifiable. It is about "unmasking man's illusions". The set is uncomplicated-- the majority of the play takes place in just a couple of rooms of Big Daddy's mansion. The depth of the emotions of the characters and the depth to which Williams paints them is though, indeed, complicated-- beautifully complicated!
The main difference between the play and the film is that when Richard Brooks adapted the play for screen in 1958, he was forced to "purge any illusions to homosexuality". Instead, the theme of "prolonged adolescence was stressed". While in the play, Brick's inability to be a husband to Maggie or son to Big Daddy results from his closeted homosexuality and guilt over Skipper's death, in the film, it becomes due to his inability to accept "adult responsibilities". In the end, Brooks' "film manufactures an upbeat ending that violates the spirit of Williams' play"... and this is unfortunate!
The film was released by MGM studio and starred Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman (both screen legends). Burl Ives and Madeline Sherwood reprosed their roles (they were also in the play) as Big Daddy and Mae. The film was a huge commercial success; Williams was paid $500,000, a big sum for 1958. While the action takes place in several locations in the film, it still stays relatively "put". However, it lessens the intensity and emotions to an extent.
Brooks did use a lot of Williams' prose and kept much of the conversation intact; however, new dialogue was added, the parts of Gooper and Mae were shortened, and Brick undergoes a major transformation. The ending is the typical Hollywood "happy ending" and appears out of character for Brick.
Williams was NOT pleased with the film adaptation... esp. with the loosely implied homosexuality and the fact that this makes Brick's actions largely inexplicable. Williams noted that "Brick's repressed sexuality was a crucial element to the drama". Critics praised the film, as they did the play. One critic writes, "his characters try to escape from the lonlieness of their lives into some form of understanding. The truth terrorizes them". The set design was also praised; it "graphically suggested a bed-sitting room on what amounts to an open stage that thrusts the action straight at the audience... the room appears to be realistic [and the] use of lighting sets the somber tone of the play". Furthermore, the cast was outstanding, and the performances "reveal awareness of a notable theatrical occasion". This is Williams' finest work.
By the time he wrote "Cat", Williams was already successful with "Menagerie" and "Streetcar", and "Cat" was enthusiastically anticipated. Some theater goers, though, did not like the unresolved ending. Others liked it b/c the plot is intriguing and the characters have secrets that are slowly revealed. "Audiences go to his plays not to be shocked, but to see the playwright's sympathetic portrayal of the characters whose fears and loneliness refelct their own". Still, some remain offended by his subject matter... in its time, some thought it "scandalous".
One theme of the play is FIDELITY. Big Daddy is faithful to Big Momma, but nobody understands why-- he admits to not being able to stand her. Brick is faithful to Maggie, but he refuses intimacy with her. Maggie protests her faithfulness, but Brick considers her to be unfaithful... Williams admires the fidelity between Jack and Peter, but they were lifelong lovers; none of these "faithful" characters have typical relationships. The exception is Gooper and Mae, whom Williams seems to despise. Is that because they lead a perfectly "typical" life?
The original version underwent changes by Kazan... In the original, when Brick appears to give into Maggie, he says in response to her declaration of true love, "Wouldn't it be funny if that were true". Kazan convinced Williams to add Big Dad
Big Daddy to Act 3 to have the conversation with Brick; at the end of the Broadway version, Brick tells Maggie, "I admire you Maggie", in a relatively unauthentic way. Critics have responded in various ways to the versions.
Other themes are TRUTH (and lies). All of the personal relationships are affected by the criterion of truth. Big Daddy (illness) Big Momma (her marriage) Gooper (bastard son) Brick (his sexuality) Maggie (her infertility), etc.
SEX also plays a huge role; it is the "peg that the drama is hung on". The sexual tension emitted by Maggie jumps off the page, and off the screen, in the film version.
Big Daddy is portrayed as a larger than life figure; he is the "epitome of insensitive vulgarity". Gooper and Mae are "personifications of dishonesty and avarice". However, they are frustrated because they are unable to "dominate" Brick (he is too apathetic and withdrawn to care) and Maggie (she fights back with their own weapon, mendacity). Brick and Maggie are likable not despite, but in some part, due to their weaknesses. "They embody sensitivity, guile, imagination, and wit." They are the protagonists, and they seem real to the audience.
The play contains all of the necessary elements of a good drama, as outlined by Aristotle in "Poetics": Plot, characters, theme, diction, music and spectacle. First, it is set in the South, and it centers around a Southern family who meets to celebrate their patriarch's birthday; Big Daddy is turning 65. They all know he is dyign of cancer (except for him), and they are arguing over who will run his business, among other things. They are forced to deal with all of the hypocrisy and lies in their lives. Aristotle said that "conflict is paramount to a good play", and this play is filled with conflict and controversy! The major conflicts are as follows:
Big Daddy vs. Family; Mae vs. Maggie (right of husbands inheritance); Maggie vs. Brick (to be intimate and get her pregnant); Brick vs. Big Daddy (to let him in and give him fatherly advice); Brick vs. Himself (guilt, alcohol), and the list goes on!!
The characters are not stereotypes... they are all based on aspects of the author's personality and people he actually knew. The guiding theme, mendacity, along with the character portraits, are relatable to the audience. The music plays a role in the play, along with the other distractions (storm, kids entering the room, etc.) act as symbols of the characters never truly "hearing one another". There is a lot of "noise" in this family.
He uses interesting diction; we are captivated by the southern accents of the characters; we can "hear" them speaking to us from the page.
Spectacle is achieved thruogh lighting and set design; the set had no walls to symbolize the characters not being able to "hide from the truth" any longer. Williams preferred his original ending, and likes Brick to remain ambivalent and weak.
Symbols: Alcohol=escape; Crutch=help (Brick's crutch was Skipper); Bedroom=sexual desire; etc.
Williams is known for presenting these "taboo subjects" and for infusing humor into his works. He said, "I ahve had a life of required endurance, a life of clawing and scratching along a sheer surface and holding on tight with raw fingers to every inch of rock higher than the one caught hold of before..." Reminds us of Maggie??
A few interesting facts:
Williams' dad doted on his younger brother. [reference to siblings in "Cat"]
Sister Rose was the inspiration behind Laura in "Menagerie"
He considered himself to be different, a person who "lived on the fringes", like many of his characters. He was teased in youth by a boy named Brick, who he thought to be weak-minded and flawed.
He had an old school friend whose father was called "Big Daddy"; he used to say, "it's as hot as a cat on a hot tin roof", thus the inspiration.
Just prior to filming (the movie version), Elizabeth Taylor's husband Michael Todd died in a plane crash. Elizabeth would have been on board the plane, except that she was feeling ill (she suffered with various illnesses throughout her life). MGM did not want to hold up production (time is money) and ordered Taylor to show up on set (she was contractually obligated to do so). Throughout the film, she is dealing with the emotions of losing her husband, whom she loved, and that raw emotion comes out in the film.
He staged "Menagerie" in New Orleans, and this is where he wrote "Streetcar" (there was a real streetcar line named "Desire").
The Hays Code was in place during this era, which prevented filmmakers from being clear about Brick's sexual desire for his friend, thus toning down the play's original critique of homophobia and sexism.
Williams went through different versions of the play and was unsure about the nature of Brick's feelings for his friend during revisions.
Williams was profoundly dismayed by the omission of the theme of homosexuality from the film version of "Cat" and felt that it took away from the very crux of the play and the motivation behind Brick's actions.
He wrote about "nightmarish visions of American Life" but went beyond shock value to provide us with profound insight.
He is a writer who interweaved his life with his craft. Absurdly, he died choking on a plastic bottle cap!
The Play:
The Heroine: She captivates us and draws us into the story. We can indentify with her; she is gorgeous... a woman who could have any man, but bound to one who does not want her! She carries with her a sense of "lack"; she is made more beautiful by her envy, longing, and disposition... that is what makes her real to us.
The Protagonist: The heroine shares this role with Brick. He is "hard"-- hard-headed, hard to "break". He is also flawed. He too is beautiful, and we wonder why can't these two beautiful people come together in their pain. We learn that it is because of repressed sexual desire-- he can't desire Maggie because his true love is gone. He is filled with self-hate that he "drinks" away every single day until he "hears that click".
The Love Triangle: Maggie-Skipper-Brick: Maggie spends her life accompanying the two men to their football games and in their public life; she is a "trophy wife". In contrast, Brick and Skipper have a love of "mythic proportions"; he describes it as "friendship", but Skipper clearly wants something more. Maggie says their relationship was the "stuff of Greek legend". Brick maintains that this relationship was "true and good", maybe the only "true and good" thing in his life. However, the real basis for the love between Brick and Skipper couldn't be spoken-- it was repressed. This ultimately leads to Skipper's death and Maggie's and Brick's isolation from one another. Because Brick refuses to acknowledge this, Maggie and Skipper are drawn together in their longing (neither are satisfied in their relationship with Brick because neither are getting fully what they want from him)... this is a "shift" in the triangle. Maggie betrays the "silence" of the unspoken triangle and demands Skipper admit his true feelings for Brick; she demands he leave them along or else make Brick admit his desire. In a strange twist, the two end up sleeping together in the heat of the moment in order to "dream that Brick is theirs" [he must be really something!]. Upon Skipper's death, Brick goes into deep mourning and depression... he withdraws from the world "in grief". He now can never admit this desire, adn even in death, Skipper comes between "husband and wife". He uses Maggie as a scapegoat, blaming her for skipper's ruin, and using the excuse that she lured Skipper into bed... if he can blame her, then that is way out of intimacy with her.
"Cat" starts out with clear references to conventional melodrama, which is a "genre consisting of stock characters and soap operatic plots that hinger on romantic intrigue and end in the resotration of the happy home". It is marked by "high emotionalism, histrionics, and other devices thought to be in "bad taste". " HOWEVER, "Cat" departs from all of this, particularly in the ending. The characters remain flawed and weak; we remain mystified by them. They seem real to us-- we can relate people we know to them; we can even see ourselves within them.
However, there is no departure in the cinematic version. In the play, Big Mama has such high hopes of Brick (he'll become a father, stop drinking, and take over the family fortune). This is an idyllic fantasy and is another one of the play's LIES.
Maggie makes up her pregnancy and desperately bribes Brick (with liquor) to conceive a child; he says nothing in return... He reamins in deep mourning over his beloved Skipper, "wracked with guilt over his friend's death and the unspeakable desire between them, disgusted by the inablity to confront their love".... he withdras depressively from the world".
The cinematic version departs greatly from this. Brick is reformed through his "heart-to-heart" with Big Daddy. Brick's drinking comes from a refusal to grow up and accept adult responsibilities rather than love for Skipper. In turn, Brick teaches Big Daddy that "he has spent his live accumulating things and never loved people enough". With this, he accepts that he is the rightful heir and commits to restoring his relationship with Maggie-- forcefully ordering her upstairs so that they can make love. Gooper and Mae are put in their places... and the promise of a new child resolves the drama. It is a LIE that makes this ending possible, the "lie of conventional mores"!
Notes on the Film:
Actors: The casting of this film is excellent. I can't see anyone else playing any of these roles. The ultimate hearthrob and the reigning screen queen of the times, both epitomes of physical beauty, Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, play Brick and Maggie. Because of their physical appeal, and fine acting skills, they exude sexuality from the screen; it is hard for viewers to imagine why he wouldn't want to scoop Maggie up and bring her to bed. Burl Ives is brilliant as Big Daddy, and the camera angles help to establish him as a god-like figure. Mae is as visually unappealing as she is when we read her character....
Special Effects: There are not many in the film... it is basically staged almost like a play, except for a few shots in varying locations. However, pathetic fallacy is used. For example, storms brew outside during the scenes between Brick and Big Daddy; this mimics the feelings of the characters.
Costumes/Sets: The set is simple to keep focus on the characters, and most of the film takes place in 3 rooms. Maggie's provocative dress sets the tone of the film; Brick's PJ's are a good contrast to Maggie's neglige. The bedroom becomes a character in and of itself.
Dialogue: Teh screenplay is centered on dialogue, and there is little to no action in the film.
"Cat" was adopted for the screen and released in 1958. All references to homosexuality had to be taken out, so how could Brooks recreate this Pulitzer Prize winning play with any integrity? Did he?
Questions:
1. Brick uses alcohol as an escape, both literally and figuratively. Have you ever tried to escape from a problem in your life?
2. Brick is disgusted with mendacity. Who is the most mendacious character in the play? Why?
3. Williams had to rewrite his ending for Richard Brooks... How would you end the play?
4. Although the play and the film are different, both enjoyed commercial success. Why?
5. The scene in which Big Daddy confronts his alcoholic son Brick about the nature of his relationship with Skipper is considered a "hallmark of contemporary American Drama-Williams at his best". Explain.
Some Great Quotes:
"What's that smell in this room? Did you notice it, Brick? Didn't you notice the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room?" -Big Daddy
Maggie: I'll win alright. Brick: Win what? What is the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof? Maggie: Just staying on it. I guess. As long as she can.
"I'm not living with you! We occupy the same cage, that's all". -Maggie
"The only thing Brick can carry is a football and a highball" -Mae
"Maggie, you are ruinin' my liquor" -Brick
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Key Facts [SparkNotes] full title · Cat on a Hot Tin Roof author · Tennessee Williams type of work · Drama genre · Tragedy language · English time and place written · Written in New York, 1939 date of first publication · 1940; first production in New York, 1955 under the direction of Elia Kazan publisher · New Directions narrator · None point of view · Point of view is not located as there is no narrator figure tone · Tragi-comic tense · The play unfolds in the time of the present setting (time) · Summer, mid-1950s setting (place) · The bed and sitting room of Big Daddy's Mississippi plantation home. protagonists · Maggie, Brick, Big Daddy major conflict · Big Daddy has come home from the clinic on his 65th birthday, and his children plan to tell him he is dying of cancer. Mae and Gooper have brought their entire brood in an attempt to jostle Brick and Maggie out of their share of the estate. Their marriage is childless and on-the-rocks; Brick has quit his job and taken to drinking upon the death of Skipper, a friend for whom he harbored sexual desire. rising action · Big Daddy corners Brick and forces him to recount what really happened with Skipper, robbing him of his crutch, and bribing him with the promise of liquor. climax · At the end of Act II, Brick admits Skipper's confession of love and reveals Daddy's cancer. falling action · Gooper and Mae attempt to get Big Mama to sign a preliminary will; Maggie lies about being pregnant and attempts to force Brick to conceive a child with her. themes · Manliness and homosexuality, the lie, the father and son, the cat on a hot tin roof motifs · The children, the off-stage telephone, the exotic lands symbols · The crutch, the bed, the console foreshadowing · Maggie announces her plot to conceive a child at the end of Act I; Brick decides to reveal Daddy's cancer in return for the revelation of his homosexual desire "The "cat on a hot tin roof" refers to a particular fantasy of feminity and feminine desire familiar to Williams' readers. The play's primary cat is Maggie, a hysterical, dissatisfied herioine who prostrates herself before a "brick" of a man. She jitters on her roof, ever uncertain of if she can stay on. Maggie's loneliness, a loneliness that lies in Brick's refusal to recognize her desire, has made her a cat-- hard, nervous and bitchy.
