Character analysis
Maggie Pollitt ("The Cat")
in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams
Maggie Pollitt, affectionately called "the Cat" by Tennessee Williams, is the fiery and talkative main character of Act One and the moral center of the entire play. Coming from a poor background, she married into the affluent Pollitt family and has a keen awareness of money, status, and the need to survive—traits shaped by her childhood experiences of genteel poverty, which she vividly recounts when recalling how she wore her cousin's hand-me-downs. Her main struggle revolves around her deteriorating marriage to Brick, who has succumbed to alcoholism and refuses to engage with her physically or emotionally, blaming her for the death of his friend Skipper. Maggie's journey evolves from a desperate, one-sided monologue in Act One—where she talks at a silent Brick pouring himself drinks—to a decisive moment at the end of the play, when she tells the family that she is pregnant with Brick's child. This lie is a strategic move to secure their inheritance and, she hopes, revive their marriage. This risk highlights her key characteristics: resourcefulness, a ruthlessness softened by genuine love, and an almost primal instinct to survive. She’s not merely plotting; Williams gives her depth and vulnerability—she openly acknowledges her love for Brick despite his disdain. Her confrontation with Mae and Gooper over Big Daddy's estate brings to light the play's themes of deceit and desire. By the time the curtain falls, having maneuvered Brick into a delicate alliance, Maggie emerges as the play's most compelling survivor—the cat who always lands on her feet.
Connected characters
- Brick Pollitt
Maggie's husband and the object of her consuming, unrequited desire. Their relationship is defined by his near-total emotional withdrawal: he responds to her long Act One monologues with monosyllables and reaches for his liquor. She loves him genuinely yet is also calculating about what his favor means for her financial security. Her false pregnancy announcement at the play's end is simultaneously a bid for inheritance and a last-ditch attempt to force Brick back into their marriage.
- Skipper
Skipper is the ghost haunting Maggie's marriage. She confesses that she confronted Skipper about his love for Brick—an act Brick interprets as betrayal that drove Skipper to his death. Skipper never appears onstage, yet his memory is the primary weapon Brick wields against Maggie, making him the invisible third party in their marriage.
- Big Daddy Pollitt
Maggie cultivates a warm, flirtatious rapport with Big Daddy, the patriarch whose vast estate is at stake. He appreciates her vitality and frankness in a way Brick no longer does. Securing Big Daddy's goodwill is central to Maggie's strategy for ensuring she and Brick inherit Brick's share of the plantation.
- Big Mama Pollitt
Big Mama is dismissive of Maggie, openly preferring Brick as a son while treating Maggie as an inadequate wife who has failed to produce children. Their tension underscores Maggie's precarious position in the family and raises the stakes of her pregnancy lie.
- Gooper Pollitt
Gooper is Maggie's chief rival for the Pollitt inheritance. His legal maneuvering to control the estate in light of Brick's dysfunction is the external threat that spurs Maggie's most aggressive scheming, including her climactic announcement.
- Mae Pollitt
Mae is Maggie's sharpest antagonist within the household. The two women trade barbed remarks throughout, with Mae flaunting her five children as proof of marital success while Maggie remains childless. Their rivalry is a sustained cat-and-mouse dynamic that gives the play much of its dark comedy.