The Repression of Sexuality within Tennessee William's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and Katherine Mansfield's "Bliss"

The Repression of Sexuality within "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Bliss" Modern western culture prides itself on progress and tolerance, and the sexual revolution is a clear and unavoidable reminder of this. In the media and in our lives, sexual expression, that a few decades ago would have been condemned, is becoming more mainstream. One cannot help but be bombarded by images of half-naked women and sexually provocative messages, yet homosexuality is still …

…Bliss" almost a century ago, the issues she wrote about still arise today. Around the world, and even here in Canada, homosexuality is approached by many with confusion and even fear. Homosexuals, both latent and open, still face a certain degree of prejudice and pressure by society that heterosexuals do not. Therefore it is important that such controversial issues be discussed in literature, because only then can people grow something "more important than cotton....tolerance" (661).