Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Margaret, or as she is referred to by the other characters, Maggie, enters the sole setting of the play, the bedroom, after one of her in-laws’ children gets her dress dirty. Her husband Brick, gets out of the shower. He seems less than enthused while responding to his wife as she changes her dress and goes on a longwinded rant about how his brother Gooper is looking to inherit their dying father’s estate. Sporting a broken ankle from drunkenly jumping hurdles the night before, Brick’s lack of input in the conversation and Maggie’s desperate attempts to get his attention reveal a marriage that is just as broken as its occupants. The two cycle through various arguments before Brick’s father and the family patriarch Big Daddy and his birthday party relocate to the claustrophobic bedroom.

Big Daddy, who has just received a comforting false report denying his malignant cancer, is an overindulged, vulgar figure who despite the supposedly good news is in a far from celebratory mood. He kicks everyone out of the room besides the one person he harbours affection for, Brick. The father and son have similarly one-sided conversation that is at times both deeply sentimental, and also blatantly nihilistic. Navigating a variety of topics and noticeably avoiding plenty of others, Brick’s composure finally cracks as Big Daddy questions him about his deceased friend and former teammate Skipper, addressing the speculation that the two were romantically involved. Clearly insecure about the topic, Brick retaliates by telling his father that his negative report was yet another example of “mendacity,” fabricated to avoid upsetting him. Big Daddy storms out of the room. Big Daddy’s only other appearance in the play is cries of agony heard in the background.

The rest of the family re-enter the room. Sensing their opportunity, Mae and Gooper, with assistance from Doctor Baugh, tell Big Mama that her husband does indeed have terminal cancer, a revelation that leaves her shattered despite the cruel treatment she recieves at his hands. Insisting that a will is necessary to ensure the plantation is left in responsible hands, Gooper presents a Big Mama in-denial with a dummy trusteeship that she refuses to entertain.

Maggie makes the untrue announcement that she is pregnant with Brick’s child. Big Mama naively accepts this, elated that Big Daddy’s “dream” has finally come true. As Big Mama rushes to tell her husband the news and Mae and Gooper exit with furious jealousy, Maggie and Brick are left alone once again. Finally achieving the ever elusive “click” from his alcohol, Brick is oblivious as Maggie removes all of the bottles from the liquor cabinet and locks them away. In the ultimate act of manipulation, Maggie tells Brick the only way he will get his alcohol back is if he sleeps with her (and hopefully make the lie she just told true). The play ends with only one thing seemingly guaranteed: the cycle of lying and liars in the household and beyond will inevitably continue.