MovieChat Forums > Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) Discussion > A detail that has always bothered me...

A detail that has always bothered me...

posted 16 years ago by BlueGreen
10 replies | jump to latest

Literally - from the first time I saw the film (and I was seventeen at the time, I think).

Brick resents his wife, sometimes (or so it seems) to the point of hatred.
He also clearly loves her and desires her.
Nothing strange about that.

What is "strange" - or, more accurately, not true to life - is the fact that, in their dialogues, he barely utters a sentence without saying her name.

"No, Maggie".
"Yes, Maggie."
"What's that, Maggie?"
"Do you, Maggie?"
"Is that so, Maggie?"
(etc., etc., etc., to the point of distraction - and annoyance.)

That strikes me as odd because one of the surest signs of resentment and/or dislike is the (sub)conscious refusal to say the person's name.
(Unless it's in an aggressive or mocking tone. And yes, his tone often IS seemingly mocking. It's just not consistent or forceful enough to convey a clear message. Maybe it's Newman's delivery, I don't know.)

And of course, the reverse is also true: one of the surest signs of liking or love is the impulse to say that person's name.
(Sarkozy expressed this very simply and very eloquently in his autobiography, where he said about his then-wife that - I am paraphrasing - "after 20 years of being together, it still moves me to say her name.")

It's not something culturally conditioned: it's a common human trait (and very easy to explain, at that).

It is possible, of course, that Williams included this oddity on purpose; only, it's not very clear what its purpose might be (which would, by definition, make it an unsuccessful dramatic device). In any case, it's not that what signals Brick's enduring desire and love for his wife; it's his body language, his gazes, his wounded tone of voice - that sort of things.

And, frankly, I don't think Williams was the subtlest of dramatists, so I would tend to doubt that it was on purpose. (I could still be wrong, of course.)
But if that is the case, it still surprises me that he didn't notice how unrealistic the constant calling of Maggie's name was.

Odd: that's all I can say.

[–] lanfearuk 16 years ago

That's really observant of you. I'd never noticed that before.

But from another point of view, it could also suggest that he was trying to keep her in line. For instance when a parent or teacher is telling off a child, they'll use their name. "Timmy - what are you doing?", "Timmy - do as your told", etc.

It's certainly attention grabbing, but not necessarily affectionate, I think.

"I'm Mrs DeWinter now."

[–] BlueGreen 16 years ago

Thanks for showing interest! ;)
(Alas, it's getting more and more rare on these boards...)

Your example is very good.
However, I don't think it is really a valid comparison.
You see, a parent will always ADORE her or his child, no matter what s/he does, no matter how angry she is at the moment.
(A normal parent, that is...)

Erotic love, of course, is not all that "pure", even at its most intense.

Regardless, I must say you raise a valid point.
I'll think about it.
Not that my thinking about it will solve anything.
Only Williams himself could settle the question, I suppose.

[–] BlueGreen 16 years ago

As I was thinking about the analogy you proposed, it occurred to me that could be a mother's way of voicing precisely her love for the child in a potentially unpleasant or painful situation where verbal exchange is, or could become, harsh.

And then, it occurred to me that could be also Brick's underlying reason, after all.

Still, it's just a thought, speculation, nothing more.
As I said, I doubt Williams was all that subtle.
(But I could be wrong.)

And of course, repeatedly calling someone's name in a bossy manner - like the mother from your analogy - can also be unpleasantly reminiscent of people calling their dogs or other beings "subordinate" to them...

[–] Seanpdineen 16 years ago

To me it seemed the opposite, a reminant of what he once felt and would like to feel.

[–] mariahfan-1 15 years ago

have to agree with you sean particularly at the end when he tells Maggie to lock the door

"why are you married to him then if you can't work with him how do you live with him?"

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] vin99 15 years ago

He loved his wife and he resented himself therefore he "hated" his wife. lol

[–] HarlowMGM 15 years ago

Williams was both a closeted gay and an open gay, closeted in society in general and open in the gay world. He lived a life of ease in Key West but not in LA/NY.

Actually, Tennessee was never closeted anywhere but pre-1970, the subject was just not brought up in the media either by him or journalists. He never hid his private life except perhaps to family members in his younger decades. All of his associates knew he was gay, he never attempted to keep his private life secret. In fact when WB head Jack Warner visited the set of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE in 1950 he got into a conversation with Frank Merlo, Tennessee's longtime companion and asked him what did he do (presumably, meaning for a living) and Frank responded "I sleep with Mr. Williams".

[–] HarlowMGM 15 years ago

I don't think Brick loved Maggie for a minute, and certainly never desired her. I think he hates her, unfairly, because he knows he is "supposed" to desire her.

As far as saying someone's name, well some people do that a lot also do it in contempt, too, as if they are spitting out the name. I think this is more true of Brick.

[–] PillowRock 14 years ago

First of all, I don't think that there is a chance in the world that Williams would not realize that any regular pattern in the dialog of one his plays was there. Regardless of what one might think about the relative thematic subtlety (or lack thereof) in Williams' plays, he was clearly a master wordsmith when it came to his dialog. That's why so much of it is still so recognizable a half century later. Even if (that's "IF") he didn't purposely put the pattern in when doing the first draft, there is no way that he wouldn't recognize it through his rereading and editing of subsequent drafts. It's not like he wrote the whole thing in just one hurried pass in an evening.

It's probably worth noting that we do eventually learn that his disgust and hatred is really more for himself than for Maggie.

There's also another another interesting pattern to everyone's use of Maggie's name. Most of the time (for people whose names have multiple forms, and who actually use more than one form of it) the shortened / diminutive / nickname form of the name is used in more affectionate or intimate terms and the full given name is used in more formal or distanced terms. With Maggie it is exactly the opposite. The times when people are being the most sympathetic, affectionate, and intimate with her are precisely the times when they switch to addressing her as Margaret instead of Maggie. (I don't think that Mae *ever* refers to, nor addresses, her as "Margaret".)

Having that specific of a pattern in the use of Maggie's / Margaret's name makes me think that it is even less likely that Williams did not know that he was creating a pattern of Brick using her name repeatedly.