Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Maggie Pollitt is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’s self-proclaimed “cat on a hot tin roof.” Married to Brick, she is beautiful but finds herself unable to capture his attention. At the start of the play, she appears in her slip before the mirror, sensuous and vulnerable. However, Maggie’s anxiety is present on her face and voice, which has a musical quality but also an occasional depth that suggests she “[played] boy’s games as a child” (238)—alluding to her determination, her failure to conform to traditional gender roles.

Through her constant chatter in Act I, Maggie reveals she grew up poor. Her father struggled with alcoholism, and her mother worked hard to “maintain some semblance of social position” (933). Maggie is now in a similar position with Brick: She has worked hard to climb the social ladder but now risks being left with nothing if Brick is excluded from his father’s will. Throughout the play, she uses her sensuality to assert power, flirting with Big Daddy and showing off for the impassive Brick. At the end of the play, Maggie knows a baby would secure her and Brick’s place as Big Daddy’s heirs, so she again leverages her womanhood to get what she wants.