Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1955

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Summary

Background

Act Summaries & Analyses

Act I

Act II

Act III

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Bed

Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and discusses the play’s treatment of alcohol addiction.

In the opening stage directions of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams stipulates that the set should include and often use a bed. This is the bed that Brick refuses to share with Maggie, which belonged to the former owners of the plantation, Jack Straw and Peter Ochello—who were presumably lovers. Given this history, the bed symbolizes Brick’s repressed desire for men and how this impedes his and Maggie’s relationship, which is compounded by Brick and Skipper’s relationship. It also represents the centrality of the couple’s marital difficulties, as their childlessness threatens their status as Big Daddy’s heirs. Situated in the middle of the set with Big Daddy’s birthday party taking place around it, the bed speaks to the lack of privacy in the Pollitt house—specifically, Maggie, Gooper, and Mae’s tendency to spy, eavesdrop, and gossip.

The Cat

Throughout the play, Maggie describes herself as a cat on a hot tin roof. She uses this metaphor to represent the discomfort of her life, her childhood in poverty and now, her loveless marriage to Brick. Although she could jump off the “roof” (marriage), Brick points out that cats always “land on their four feet uninjured” (624); thus, Maggie is determined to stay on the roof as long as possible. She vehemently rejects Brick’s suggestions that she take a lover or leave him. She claims staying on the roof is the best “victory” she can hope for, suggesting she doesn’t expect her relationship with Brick to completely recover. Known for her “catty” humor, Maggie recognizes her “transformation” into Maggie the Cat at the hands of Brick’s indifference has left her crueler. Like a cat, she has become sneaky, stalking her desire throughout the play and finally pouncing with the final lie about her pregnancy.

The Crutch

Having broken his ankle while jumping hurdles on a high school track, Brick uses a crutch to get around. In this regard, the crutch symbolizes a failure in masculinity, as he physically hurt himself in the endeavor and continues to repress related emotions. From the start, he appears “broken,” literally and metaphorically. Maggie and Big Daddy take Brick’s crutch in an emasculating gesture, to force him into conversation. Most significantly, Maggie takes control of her marriage and throws the crutch over a railing. She also takes Brick’s other “crutch,” his liquor, insisting he satisfy her wish for a baby before she returns the bottles. At the play’s end, he becomes dependent on alcohol and her, as she fights for their inheritance in his stead. Without his crutches, he is helpless, his masculinity undermined.