Mae is Gooper’s wife. She runs in respected social circles, but her family lost all their money at some point, so she’s just as eager as Margaret to inherit the Pollitt family fortune. Big Daddy describes her as “a good breeder,” having given birth to five children with another on the way.
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Mae Character Timeline in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The timeline below shows where the character Mae appears in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
...as he does so because he has a broken ankle. Margaret continues to complain about Mae and Gooper (Brick's brother) and their five kids while standing in her slip.
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Margaret says that Mae and Gooper aim to cut Brick out of Big Daddy’s estate, now that they have...
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...that Brick still has one big advantage—Big Daddy dotes on him and dislikes Gooper and Mae. Margaret also suspects that Big Daddy has a “lech” for her, from the way he...
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As Margaret continues to make fun of Mae’s title as a former cotton carnival queen, she suddenly notices the way that Brick is...
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Mae enters, carrying the bow of an archery set. She asks whether it belongs to Brick,...
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...into the bathroom, but Big Mama meanwhile has entered through the other entrance, Gooper and Mae’s gallery door. Big Mama tells Brick to come out of the bathroom so that she...
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...night’s party. In any case, the cancer is malignant, and this is why Gooper and Mae have been trying to convey Brick and Maggie’s shortcomings to Big Daddy before he makes...
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Margaret says that she’ll defeat Gooper and Mae though. She launches into a rant about having been poor all her life, always having...
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...is dead and she’s alive. Brick hurls his crutch at her and misses, just as Mae and Gooper’s daughter Dixie runs into the room with a cap pistol and shouts, “Bang,...
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Act 2
...about memorials, asking whether they think someone’s going to die. Reverend Tooker laughs awkwardly, as Mae and Doctor Baugh appear, talking about the children’s immunizations. Margaret tells Brick to turn on...
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...cake and champagne. Everyone except Brick sings “Happy birthday to you,” and when that’s finished, Mae signals at her children to sing another song about how much they love Big Daddy...
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...Margaret opens the package. She sounds surprised as she pulls out a cashmere robe, but Mae accuses her of faking the surprise, since she happens to know that Margaret purchased it...
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...field last night. In crude language, he asks whether Brick was laying a woman, while Mae quickly ushers the reverend out on the gallery. Brick denies it, and Big Daddy continues...
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...bedroom, and all the others are out on the gallery. Big Daddy compares Margaret and Mae, and he and Brick agree that they both look like a couple of cats on...
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Big Daddy hears a sound from the bedroom and asks who’s there. Mae appears by the gallery entrance, and Big Daddy tells her to stop spying. Mae accuses...
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Big Daddy tells Brick that Mae and Gooper have reported that Brick won’t sleep with Margaret. He asks whether this is...
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...all about mendacity, having had to lie about caring for Big Mama, for Gooper, for Mae—in fact, he says the only one he’s ever had any devotion to in his life...
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Act 3
...Brick, while Big Mama starts to get nervous that the family is gathering around her. Mae suggests that Brick said something he shouldn’t have said to Big Daddy, and Big Mama...
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...they deliver the news, but he tells Margaret to sit with her instead. Gooper and Mae reveal the news that Big Daddy actually does have cancer. In hysterics, Big Mama calls...
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...sober again so that he can take hold of the estate, which sends Gooper and Mae into a panic. They say that Brick is much too irresponsible to take hold of...
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...tells Brick that Big Daddy’s fondest dream would be to have a grandson from Brick. Mae responds that it’s too bad Margaret and Brick can’t oblige. In response, Margaret grows determined...
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Big Mama rushes out to tell Big Daddy the news, while Mae screams that Margaret is lying about her pregnancy. Mae says that she and Gooper can...
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