Sexual Struggle and Conflict in Cat on a Hot tin Roof

Williams explores the theme of the complexity of the sexual relationship, and its importance as a factor in the lives of human beings. In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the most important sexual relationship is the one Margaret is attempting to reestablish between Brick and herself. This relationship is important for a number of reasons.

It must be restored if Gooper and Mae are going to be dissatisfied in their attempts to disinherit Brick and Margaret; it must be restored to present Big Daddy with a third generation heir; finally, it must be restored to bring Brick out of the self-imposed exile and moral paralysis in which he finds himself. As critics have noticed, sex seems to be regulated in the face of death to obtain money. But it must also be noted that sex is also regulated in the face of death to create life, and this is perhaps the most important role that sex plays in this drama.

There, are many sexual relationships in the play and all of them impose upon each other. Most of them are troubled. Big Daddy admits that sexuality with his wife has been essentially joyless for him. Brick and Margaret no longer have a sexual relationship, although by the end of the play it is going to be slightly restored. Gooper and Mae appear to have the most fulfilling sex relationships, but we should note that it is filled with irony. This sexual union, which has produced five children seems to lack all the elements of compassion, tenderness, and deep feeling which mark the less "successful" relationships in the play.

Sexual motivation determines much of the action of the play, also Skipper's homosexuality is in great part the motivating factor in Brick's detachment from Margaret. She has apparently justified her suspicious about Skipper by viewing his inability to make love to her as the result of his wrong headedness. Thus, distorted sexuality lies at the root of much of the action in the play. Secondarily, the resolution of the play depends greatly upon the restoration of a normal sexual relationship between Margaret and Brick. Throughout the play, then, the solution of much of the dilemma in which Margaret and Brick find themselves depends upon the continuation of a healthy sexual relationship. This is certainly not a simple task, and in fact there is no strong indication that this will happen.

But it is precisely the difficulty in achieving a wholesome sexual relationship, which emphasizes the force of the problem.

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