Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Henry Miller

Talk, real talk, it seems to me, is one of the most expressive manifestations of man's hunger for

unlimited marriage. Sensitive people, people who feel, want to unite in some deeper, subtler, more

durable fashion than is permitted by custom and convention. I mean in ways beyond the dreams of 

social and political Utopists. The brotherhood of man, should it ever come about, is only the

kindergarten stage in the drama of human relationships. When man begins to permit himself full

expression, when he can express himself without fear of ridicule, ostracism or persecution, the first

thing he will do, will be to pour out his love.

Henry Miller – Sexus (1949)

These words from a novel by Henry Miller are the first thing which come

to the mind after reading the first act of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . It appears to be that

both Miller and Williams, as contemporary writers, shared the same concerns.

They complement each other: the former outlines his ideal world, while the latter

describes his actual world.

In Williams’ play, the characters are far from being able to pe rmit

themselves full expression: social conventions are corsets which severely

constraint their personalities, and the possibility to honestly show their feelings

and emotions to others and even to themselves. In fact, they all pay a high price to

keep up appearances: that price is unhappiness.

On the one hand, there is Brick, locked up in a failed marriage, being forced

to hide his homosexuality; drinking, perhaps, is the only outlet for his built up

anger and frustration. But, despite his alcoholism and violence, he seems to be the

most sensitive character in the play, the only one who is able to display any

emotions, and whose inner motivations have to do more with affection than with

his concern for money. In contrast, all the other characters are motivated by some

other interests: Gooper and his wife crave for the inheritance, Old Daddy wants to

keep his power, Big Mamma aspires to remain blind to her husband’s 

mistreatment and dislike.

Margaret deserves a separate paragraph. Although she seems to be cool

and manipulative, she is the only one who speaks the truth; she is the one who

dares to face Brick with the reality of his relationship with Skipper, with his father’s

condition, with his brother’s actual intentions. And honesty, in this context, is a

tremendous asset, as long as it is hiding the truth what brings misery to the family

members.

What would Williams have written if he had been born fifty years later?

Today, his characters, perhaps, would be as tortured as those in the play, but, at

least, they would be able to find some relief by enjoying a glimpse of freedom –the

one Miller used to dream of-- from time to time.

 

  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Henry Miller