How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Page.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue. We used the New Directions edition of the play, published in 1971.
Quote #4
MARGARET
When I came to his room that night, with a little scratch like a shy little mouse at his door, he made that pitiful ineffectual little attempt to prove that what I had said wasn't true…. (I.59.1121-1124)
Maggie goes to Skipper to sleep with him to both feel closer to Brick and to see if her supposition is right. She is jealous of Brick and Skipper's love.
Quote #5
BIG DADDY
- Yes, boy. I'll tell you something that you might not guess. I still have desire for women and this is my sixty-fifth birthday. (II.93.683-685)
In this moment, we see Big Daddy's highly sexual nature, especially with (falsely) restored life. Here also we are reminded that Big Daddy is the patriarch and thus a representation of potency. His potency is meant to reflect the strength and fertility of the farmland, as well as the continuation of his lineage. However, the lust he expresses here is only a mirage, as the knowledge of his impending death will immobilize him.
Quote #6
BIG DADDY
Now, hold on, hold on a minute, son.—I knocked around in my time. (II.115.1155-1156)
Here is the only instance in which Big Daddy alludes to his days of sexual experimentation with men, as brief and ambiguous as it is. At this moment, Big Daddy does not seem as much the misogynistic, ultra-macho man we know him to be. He reveals his own shifting sexual identity. At this moment, Brick and Big Daddy do not seem so vastly different or so far apart, but we see how both have interpreted their gender roles differently.