The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie is described as a “memory play” by the narrator Tom Wingfield; however, in the case of the play’s vivacious matriarch, Amanda Wingfield, it is a drama about history repeating itself. Indeed, the themes of male imposed abandonment and alcoholism are all too familiar to the resolute Amanda. Yet, she is able to cope with her unfortunate circumstances, and remain optimistic in an extremely grim world. Amanda is surrounded by people who surrender to adversity, although she has tried—maybe, in some cases, a little too much—to prevent it from happening, especially to her own children.

Indeed, the most heart-wrenching moment in the play is when Amanda realizes that her daughter, Laura Wingfield, may not ever be able to rise above her shortcomings and function in the “real world”. Laura has never taken a chance in her life; instead she uses her disease, pleurosis, as an excuse for anything and everything, although she is only mildly affected by it. What is noteworthy, within the play, is that Laura does take a chance on love for the first time in her life. Despite the risk that she takes, not to mention the first kiss she shares with the young gentleman caller, she soon becomes reacquainted with heartbreak once he divulges to her that he’s actually going steady with another girl. It seems that Laura’s one great risk will also be her last; she is as fragile as her ornamental menageries, and, by the end of the play, completely broken, much like her favorite unicorn figurine.

Throughout his works, Tennessee Williams explores the effects that the changing times have on individuals, especially women. However, in The Glass Menagerie, all of the characters fail to understand their proper role in society. This theme becomes more pronounced when the men in the play abandon their family. Amanda is perpetually lost in the ideals of her southern belle adolescence; whereas, Laura does not possess the social aptitude to function beyond the comforts of her own home. Naturalistic factors are also an oppressive factor throughout the play. Laura is grotesque in the sense that she evokes empathy from others; her legs, although manageable to herself, attract unwanted attention. Because of Laura’s handicap, she believes that she will always be regarded as different, which is a line of reasoning that she uses as an excuse for hiding from society and living in her own little world.