Abstract
In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, no less than in other works such as Batlle a/Angels (Orpheus Descending), The Glass Menagerie. A Streetcar Named Desire. Sweet Bird of Youth , The Night of the Iguana, and The Two-Character Play. Tennessee Williams draws upon mythological analogues to illuminate characters and to underscore thematic parallels. Myles Raymond Hurd points out. for example, that the idealized friendship between Achilles and Patroclus in Homer's Iliad conceals a possible homosexual relationship that sheds light on the "equally ambiguous" relationship between Brick and Skipper in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . On the other hand, Robert Hethmon suggests that the idealistic Brick more nearly resembles Hippolytus, someone who, like Brick. enjoys "the company of other young men, and the delights of athletic contests." Surprisingly, however, these and other critics have neglected to consider the similarities between Brick and Narcissus, the mythological figure whose name now denotes a psychological disorder, the kind of illness particularly appealing to Tennessee Williams, whose plays have often been noted for their psychological realism.
Published Version
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