How Is Maggie Presented In A Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own” (Audre Lorde). In A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, by Tennesse Williams, the main focus is Brick and Maggie. How Maggie yearns for love and a happy marriage but Brick is absolutely miserable. The tables turn in A Waiter’s Wife by Zadie Smith, Aslana is extremely unhappy and pregnant in her arranged marriage with Samad. How do both of these characters connect? They are both unsatisfied with their current relationships and living situations.Their sense of their feminine identity is clouded by the fact that they are expected to live up to unnecessary expectations and cater to a relationship on the brink of falling apart. In Tennessee Williams’ famous Cat

The quote reflects how lonely she feels, and how she doesn’t feel loved or needed in her relationship with Brick. Her constant need for attention and approval takes away from her personality and who she really is. She is trying so hard to gain his love and approval she is losing her own sense of identity by being completely consumed by her marriage. Through Maggie's actions, Williams highlights the destructive and self effacing tendencies and the loss of individuality that can arise from a relentless pursuit of acceptance within dysfunctional relationships. Alsana and Samad are together because of an arranged marriage; they have recently immigrated to london. Alsana is carrying twin boys. The story strongly focuses on traditional gender roles between husband and wife. Alsana is affirmative and knows what she wants. “Two plates smashed to the floor. She patted her stomach to indicate her unborn child and pointed to the pieces, ‘Hungry?’” (1569). She desires Samad to take on a more traditional masculine role, providing food and financial support for his family. On the other hand, Samad wishes for Alsana to fulfill conventional female duties, such as preparing meals, maintaining a clean household and managing the

Unable to find balance between their personal needs and societal expectations, they experience emotional turmoil and seek solutions for their complex lives. The stories of these characters reveal the profound impact that societal expectations can have on women's struggles in marital relationships. Maggie tries to force Brick to love her and feel attracted to her, by doing this she loses sight of herself and why she married Brick in the first place. Alsana did not have a choice; she was put into an arranged marriage with Samad who is a lot older than she is. While in this relationship she struggles to assert herself not only in her marriage but also in London, a place which is still unknown to her and her cultural beliefs. Through the lens of this challenging dynamic, these texts highlight the struggle that women often go through in unhealthy relationships. Both individuals are forced to confront the complexities and hardships that arise from these diverging perspectives. The comparison between Maggie and Alsana is that both of their identities as wives, and mothers are clouded by the stereotypical gender roles they are trying to fit into to please their spouses or to please the people surrounding them so they can gain a sense of belonging. Ultimately, such depictions in literature allow readers to gain a better understanding of the