Mission: Gain Land

Two completely different texts written in two completely different era’s aren’t usually thought of as having a common base, however, In Niccolo Machiavelli’s guide The Prince, written in 1513, a standard formation of the rules of the land in which Tennessee William’s Pulitzer Prize Winning Play, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, first presented in 1955, follows. Machiavelli states many important “rules” for one to gain land, keep land, and how to get from one step to the next. William’s play is about a southern family attempting to maintain their land by deciding which son will inherit it. Manipulation, greed, conspiracy, death and family are main keys to maintaining land in any country at any time, Machiavelli wrote the guide book for any prince where as Williams follows the guides throughout his play.

Land is usually given to the first born son, in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, the older brother, Gooper, should have gained the estate from Big Daddy, however, younger brother, Brick is chosen for title of the land. Machiavelli states, “All principalities for which some record exists have been ruled…by a prince with barons holding title not by his grace but by right of inheritance. In states which are governed by a prince and his servants, the prince has greater authority because no one in his land recognizes anyone but him as master” (26). This translating into the idea that someone in line to inherit land is not determined by their personality rather by their right to inheritance, so why is the younger brother given opportunity to gain instead of the oldest son? Big Daddy says to Brick, “I thought about you. Should I or should I not, if the jig was up, give you this place when I go— since I hate Gooper an’ Mae an’ know that they hate me. —And I thought, No! —Then I thought, Yes! I couldn’t make up my mind. I hate Gooper and his five same monkeys and that bitch Mae! Why should I turn over twenty-eight thousand acres of the richest land this side of the valley Nile to not my kind” (112). Big Daddy’s decision is based on wants, not needs. His land would be in much better hands if his first-born son acquired it, as it usually is, however, he wants his second son, Brick, to own the land. Machiavelli believes the prince has the greatest power, in Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, Brick is the prince, everyone in the household knows he is in line for the estate, this makes everyone around him his servants, not physically, but financially. The money will belong to him and the family’s well-being will be up to him.

Power is a strong lesson to learn. Brick has the most power in this situation, even though Big Daddy has the control of who to give the estate to, Brick has the influence needed to steer Big Daddy’s decision. The family would be considered the mob in Machiavelli’s opinion, and when someone controls the mob, all goes well. However, this is a modern-day situation in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The women in this play are outspoken, yet not independent. They still obey their husbands and elders, like a mob would have done in the 1500’s. Machiavelli writes, “For the mob is always impressed by appearances and by results; and the world is composed of the mob” (70). This is directly related to the women in the house. They each want appearances to stay upheld. Big Mama wants her son, Brick, to maintain their southern roots when he takes over the land. Maggie wants to live the life of luxury and the only way is to convince her husband, Brick, to procreate and accept the land from Big Daddy. Mae, on the other hand, being the wife of Gooper, would like nothing more than her husband to gain the land. Mae and Gooper are the conspirators, the antagonists, attempting to move up in society (in this case, society is the family).

All people in power have a chance of being over thrown, either by family or enemies and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is no exception. Gooper and Mae are determined to cause a rift in Big Daddy and Brick, allowing Gooper to inherit the land. Gooper has every right to want the estate. He is the first-born son, is much more responsible than Brick, has five children, and with one more on the way, is obviously the best candidate for title to the land. Machiavelli writes, “The worst he can fear from a hostile people is to be abandoned by them, but from a hostile nobility he must fear not only being abandoned but also being attacked” (44). The people who would attack Brick are his brother and sister-in-law, not physically, but emotionally, verbally, or conspire against him. Gooper and Mae know they are better for the land, so throughout the entire play, the two attempt to change Big Daddy’s mind—but to no avail. Big Daddy still plans on handing the land over to Brick. Machiavelli’s advice is very informational and would have handled well if given to Brick. As stated in Chris Barker’s “Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice” regarding Derrida’s term logocentrism, “by ‘logocentrism,’ Derrida means the reliance on fixed a priori transcendental meanings, that is universal meanings, concepts and forms of logic that exist within human reason before any other kinds of thinking occur” (84). Machiavelli’s ideas terming the prince are universal, in any situation these guidelines and “rules” exist and are practiced before any new ideas enter the situation, one always relies on existing theories and the family of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof does just that.

As mentioned in Cultural Studies Raymond Williams was quoted, “Culture is both constitutive and expressive of a social totality of human relations and practices” (57). Our culture has set limits regarding relationships of economic, gender and class systems. Maggie, being a woman, has the relationship of economic, gender and class regarding her inability to inherit anything. This role is left to the men in that culture. Gooper and Brick are the only heirs to inherit the land, had it been one male and one female, there is no doubt the female would be ignored as a candidate of inheritance. Barker then states in response to Williams, “By this he means that the economic sets limits to what can be done or expressed in culture. However, it does not determine the meaning of cultural practices in a direct one-to-one relationship” (57). This would explain why in private, Maggie and Brick switch roles. One-to-one relationships challenge common ideologies regarding roles. Maggie is the sexually aggressive mate where as Brick is the emotional partner drinking his way to contentment.

If there is an unspoken rule on gender roles regarding inheritance, does everyone automatically understand the rules or is it forced upon us when the timing needs to. The most common rule in both The Prince and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof regarding inheritance states the oldest son receives the largest amount of land and funds. It is evident as Big Daddy makes his own rule by choosing which son receives the land and funds that, as stated above, one-to-one relationships don’t always follow conventional rules. The characters in this play break all conventionalities.
Barker then states, “The further cultural practices are away from the core capitalist production process, the more they can operate autonomously” (57). His brilliant example is the idea of “individually produced art [being] more autonomous than mass-produced television” (57). Big Daddy and his family are away from the core capitalist production process because they operate their family as they please. Breaking common expectations allows them to be an individual household that stands out from the usual picture the perfect southern family makes.
Barker defines structuralism as “describing social formations as constituted by complex structures or regularities. It is concerned with how cultural meaning is produced” (57). This idea can be directed to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’s Maggie character. She breaks the social formations of the submissive housewife by wearing tight skinned clothing and being aggressive towards her husband, mother-in-law and father-in-law about property ownership. However, the biggest situation in which she breaks social formations is her approach to children. She doesn’t want to have them, she even hates them, but knows she and Brick have better odds of gaining the land if they had a son, therefore she attempts to convince Brick into impregnating her. Usually socially formed women start wanting children once married; it is engrained in women to have children. If one chooses not to, they are questioned why. Brick also battles social constraints by drinking himself until he feels the “click” meaning everything will be all right. He hobbles around all day, drinking as much as he can, ignoring his wife’s needs and his parent’s wishes. Although his father idolizes him and his mother considers him her only son, Brick can’t realize what an opportunity he is given. To own his father’s land would set him up for life and he and Maggie would be stable financially.

Michael Foucault is known for his interpretations on human sexuality and its constraints. His text, The History of Sexuality states, “Three major explicit codes—apart from the customary regularities and constraints of opinion—governed sexual practices: canonical law, the Christian pastoral, and civil law” (683). Civil law is emphasized in the two texts, yet canonical and Christian pastoral laws also make a big influence throughout The Prince. Civil laws regulate society in the old South, and the civil law states how each individual should behave. Women have their submissive roles that make them follow behind their husbands, while men have their role of inheriting their father’s estates and making a name for themselves.

Foucault symbolized the “laws” of society and which aspects should be followed. The civil law reiterates the notions of expectations every individual has, and it is used throughout Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Barker’s views on ideas regarding social constraints and one-to-one relationships restricting actual social limitations and Machiavelli’s notion of grace as a weighing mechanism in determining what is right and who is rightful to inherit are evident in the play. All of these texts point to one common issue: rules and roles of society can change at any moment and by any person. Big Daddy chooses the unconventional younger son to inherit the land. Maggie is the aggressive partner in her marriage with Brick. Yet, they are all under one roof, supporting the idea of family, however broken it may be.

According to Machiavelli, the more heirs one has, the better the chances of securing one’s lineage and land. Brick understands this and eventually gives into his wife’s demands by procreating a child. He may be an alcoholic and a has-been football player, but he has one thing his older brother will never have: the grace needed to get what he wants. His ‘grace’ is appreciated by his mother and father, allowing their decision to feel correct; one may ask if they are making the right choice, and from an outsider’s viewpoint, the answer may be no; but Big Daddy and Big Mama love their youngest son and denounce the oldest son. Grace allowed Brick to strive; order of birth ruined Gooper’s chances of gaining what is considered rightfully his. Machiavelli’s guidelines are relative from the 16th century to present day American life, and I think he’d be proud to see his words of advice rewarding.

Works Cited

Barker, Chris. “Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice.” Third Edition. Sage Publications. Los Angeles. 2008

Foucault, Michael. The History of Sex. Handout. 683-691.
Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. Ed. Daniel Donno. Bantam Classic. New York. 2003.

Williams, Tennessee. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. New Directions Books. New York. 1975.