Director's Input
Before the alternate Act 3, there are a couple pages of notes from Tennessee Williams about what happened when he went to put this play into production under the direction of director Elia Kazan. He explains that any good playwright is foolish if they are not open to new ideas and alterations from their directors, and that this is also the best way to learn more about who they are as a playwright, and adapt based on constructive criticism. So when Kazan read through the play for the first time, he thought a few things ought to be changed around before it went on stage. First, he thought Big Daddy was too prominent a character to completely disappear for the final act. Second, he thought Brick needed to show more of an emotional change and not remain so stoic, and lastly wanted to make Maggie more clearly sympathetic to an audience. With those goals in mind, let's take a look at some of the changes within the re-worked act.
One of the first new dialogue bits we see incorporated is found on page 141. Mae, Gooper, Maggie, and Big Mama are all inside waiting to have their discussion on what's going to happen to the estate and what's really going on with Big Daddy, but they're all waiting for Brick, who's out on the balcony. My previous blog post discussed all of the chatter that happens between these lively southerners, and that noise remained in this new version of Act 3, causing Brick to escape outside. While out there, he says, " Hello, moon, I envy you, you cool son of a bitch." (Williams 141). This statement provides tremendous amounts of help in contrasting Brick form the rest of his family. At the beginning of this scene, The people inside were all in a fuss about how hot it was and could someone please open a window I'm dying the church just got a new AC system and isn't that wonderful open a door for heaven's sake. So while the rest of the family is inside sweltering and getting ready to have a very heated discussion about the future, Brick escapes to the crisp night air to drink, and is envious of the moon for living in that cool atmosphere all the time while he suffers in his southern hell. Maggie also describes herself as being a cat on a hot tin roof, hence the name of the play, and through this statement Brick is separating himself further from Maggie.
When Brick finally does enter the scene with the rest of his family, it varies slightly from the original act. If you look back to my previous post, I dive into this particular section which before mostly consisted of author's direction within brackets, but in this version it's mainly dialogue. In the original, the room goes quiet as Brick enters and he is the sole focus as he crosses the room to the liquor cabinet. In this version, I still want to focus on what's within the brackets, but also look at why he's not the center of focus anymore. The new Act 3 has Brick enter as Big Mama's discussing Skipper's death, just as before, but this time instead of Brick completely ignoring her and shrugging her off, he "[...rests his hand on Big Mama's head...]" (Williams 145). This single action changes the viewers opinion of Brick. Instead of remaining the tragic, emotionally wounded football hero, we see him as semi compassionate towards his mother just through a comforting hand on her head. This helps accomplish Kazan's goal of having Brick appear more emotionally connected.
One of Kazan's other wishes was to have Big Daddy reappear, so in this version he does come back. He appears to have calmed down significantly after running off stage at the end of Act 2 screaming LIARS! He enters towards the end of Act 3, just before Maggie decides to make her announcement that she's pregnant. The conversation when Big Daddy entered the room turned to his birthday, as he was wearing the robe that Brick/Maggie bought him. Maggie states that it's the softest thing she's ever felt and Big Daddy responds, "Yeah, this is my soft birthday, Maggie.... Not my gold or my silver birthday, but my soft birthday, everything's got to be soft for Big Daddy on this soft birthday." (Williams 166). I think this quote shows how sad Big Daddy is. He may have only been away for a few hours or so, but he came to the realization that he was going to die, and this quote seems to reflect that he's deeply upset by that, as anyone would be. Maggie as a result of that goes on to make her announcement that she's pregnant, and that it will be the best birthday gift of all to Big Daddy. Big Mama is ecstatic obviously, and Big Daddy appears pleased too. All of that jazz kind of helps piece things together so that we know what's going to happen to the estate, and that hopefully Brick and Maggie will be okay, and also that Mae and Gooper are left completely out of the picture.
To me, Maggie doesn't gain any more sympathy in this new ending. It sort of closes the same way as the original; Maggie makes her announcement, Mae and Gooper get ticked and leave, and then Maggie convinces Brick they should actually try to have a child. Brick has a few different lines at the end that make him more human, but Maggie overall stays sort of desperate yet strong willed. I think an audience can find reasons to relate to her anyways, and any sort of extensive re-working on her character would have been overkill and changed her integrity as a person. I think her quiet suffering is something anyone can relate to, and to suffer while there are further crises happening around her makes her all the more admirable. She knows how to get what she wants eventually, and sets her mind to it. Also, I think we can learn a lesson from her about relationships as well. She is exceptionally loyal despite Brick being an absolute jerk (he has good reason but still). He literally says to her in Act 1, "...how in hell on earth do you imagine- that you're going to have a child by a man that can't stand you?" (Williams 45). That's quite harsh, and from the sounds of their arguments it appears that this fight has been going on for a decent length of time, probably several months. He attempts to push her away several times saying she should take a lover or leave him but still she remains because she does in fact love Brick. That sort of blind hope and perseverance is something everyone can look up to.
One of the first new dialogue bits we see incorporated is found on page 141. Mae, Gooper, Maggie, and Big Mama are all inside waiting to have their discussion on what's going to happen to the estate and what's really going on with Big Daddy, but they're all waiting for Brick, who's out on the balcony. My previous blog post discussed all of the chatter that happens between these lively southerners, and that noise remained in this new version of Act 3, causing Brick to escape outside. While out there, he says, " Hello, moon, I envy you, you cool son of a bitch." (Williams 141). This statement provides tremendous amounts of help in contrasting Brick form the rest of his family. At the beginning of this scene, The people inside were all in a fuss about how hot it was and could someone please open a window I'm dying the church just got a new AC system and isn't that wonderful open a door for heaven's sake. So while the rest of the family is inside sweltering and getting ready to have a very heated discussion about the future, Brick escapes to the crisp night air to drink, and is envious of the moon for living in that cool atmosphere all the time while he suffers in his southern hell. Maggie also describes herself as being a cat on a hot tin roof, hence the name of the play, and through this statement Brick is separating himself further from Maggie.
When Brick finally does enter the scene with the rest of his family, it varies slightly from the original act. If you look back to my previous post, I dive into this particular section which before mostly consisted of author's direction within brackets, but in this version it's mainly dialogue. In the original, the room goes quiet as Brick enters and he is the sole focus as he crosses the room to the liquor cabinet. In this version, I still want to focus on what's within the brackets, but also look at why he's not the center of focus anymore. The new Act 3 has Brick enter as Big Mama's discussing Skipper's death, just as before, but this time instead of Brick completely ignoring her and shrugging her off, he "[...rests his hand on Big Mama's head...]" (Williams 145). This single action changes the viewers opinion of Brick. Instead of remaining the tragic, emotionally wounded football hero, we see him as semi compassionate towards his mother just through a comforting hand on her head. This helps accomplish Kazan's goal of having Brick appear more emotionally connected.
One of Kazan's other wishes was to have Big Daddy reappear, so in this version he does come back. He appears to have calmed down significantly after running off stage at the end of Act 2 screaming LIARS! He enters towards the end of Act 3, just before Maggie decides to make her announcement that she's pregnant. The conversation when Big Daddy entered the room turned to his birthday, as he was wearing the robe that Brick/Maggie bought him. Maggie states that it's the softest thing she's ever felt and Big Daddy responds, "Yeah, this is my soft birthday, Maggie.... Not my gold or my silver birthday, but my soft birthday, everything's got to be soft for Big Daddy on this soft birthday." (Williams 166). I think this quote shows how sad Big Daddy is. He may have only been away for a few hours or so, but he came to the realization that he was going to die, and this quote seems to reflect that he's deeply upset by that, as anyone would be. Maggie as a result of that goes on to make her announcement that she's pregnant, and that it will be the best birthday gift of all to Big Daddy. Big Mama is ecstatic obviously, and Big Daddy appears pleased too. All of that jazz kind of helps piece things together so that we know what's going to happen to the estate, and that hopefully Brick and Maggie will be okay, and also that Mae and Gooper are left completely out of the picture.
To me, Maggie doesn't gain any more sympathy in this new ending. It sort of closes the same way as the original; Maggie makes her announcement, Mae and Gooper get ticked and leave, and then Maggie convinces Brick they should actually try to have a child. Brick has a few different lines at the end that make him more human, but Maggie overall stays sort of desperate yet strong willed. I think an audience can find reasons to relate to her anyways, and any sort of extensive re-working on her character would have been overkill and changed her integrity as a person. I think her quiet suffering is something anyone can relate to, and to suffer while there are further crises happening around her makes her all the more admirable. She knows how to get what she wants eventually, and sets her mind to it. Also, I think we can learn a lesson from her about relationships as well. She is exceptionally loyal despite Brick being an absolute jerk (he has good reason but still). He literally says to her in Act 1, "...how in hell on earth do you imagine- that you're going to have a child by a man that can't stand you?" (Williams 45). That's quite harsh, and from the sounds of their arguments it appears that this fight has been going on for a decent length of time, probably several months. He attempts to push her away several times saying she should take a lover or leave him but still she remains because she does in fact love Brick. That sort of blind hope and perseverance is something everyone can look up to.
Why I Loved This Book
This play far surpassed my expectations. I was absorbed from the get go, and finished it within a few days over spring break. I thought all of the characters were diverse and each had their essential purpose to the plot, and watching all of those different characters interact over their common chaos was fascinating. Tennessee Williams was a master of craft and symbolism, creating a moving, heartbreaking, sad yet beautiful story all while upholding a level of quality that is lost to so many writers of our time period. I can understand why he is an American Classic, his work is ingenious, and represents humanity in it's purest form, both the strengths and the faults. I will absolutely be reading more of his work, and was deeply satisfied with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.