Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by
Tennessee Williams. It was first
performed in New York in 1955 and awarded a Pulitzer
Prize.
The plot is centered on the wealthy Pollitt family in Mississippi headed by Big Daddy, dysfunctional and chaotic because of the controlling ways of Daddy Pollitt. The question of inheritance arises as Big Daddy becomes terminally ill. He owns a 28,000 acre estate and he has stipulated that only when his sons have children that they can avail of any inheritance.
The younger son, Brick, and his wife Maggie are childless. Maggie is the 'cat' of the title. She is deprived of affection and passion because Brick is a homosexual. The situation of Brick and Maggie is in contrast to Gooper, the other brother. His wife, Mae, is pregnant and expecting their 6th child.
Knowing the condition of Big Daddy makes the family members confront each other's relationships, their tensions and hostilities that have developed through the years. Brick has turned to alcohol from guilt of his homosexuality.
At the end to the play there is a suggestion that all is not lost between Maggie and Brick, that she might be able to conceive if she can seduce Brick.