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).
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.
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.
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.