The Glass Menagerie

Background of the Play

Thomas Lanier Williams III (Tennessee Williams) was a famous American playwright, who earned fame from his play The Glass Menagerie. This play is a professed memory play, where we can see Williams’ past scattered at different intervals. The main character, with the exclusion of his incest motif, represents Williams’ past. The main driving forces behind this play were the Whitmanian, Shelleyan effects and hardships that the playwright faced in his past. We can see many parallels between the life of the protagonist of the play and Williams’ life, and this signifies its autobiographical importance.

Though he had started writing at the age of sixteen, in 1927 this play gave him fame. In search of work, he was accepted as a screenwriter at MGM, and he wrote the script for The Gentleman Caller, a screenplay. This script was rejected, and he transformed it into the play The Glass Menagerie. To this failure, he later referred as ‘the catastrophe of success,’ because he owes all his fame to this failure.

It opened in Chicago. At the opening day of the play, there were no indications that the play would succeed. Actors were facing the same problems as the MGM directors had thought, the dialogues were too difficult to remember. However, miraculously this play claimed success in the first staging. Later, when taken to New York, it ran over five hundred and sixty performances. It won ‘New York Critics Circle Award’ there.

Turning a personal experience to a drama was a painful experience for him because it lay bare everything to the public. He later referred to it several times as a most painful experience. His plays earned fame because of incest and homosexuality and caused sensation in people. Williams spent a disturbed life; bearing deaths of a number of loved ones including his parents, grandfather and his lover, but he kept writing. He died in 1983. 

He depicts a dark, gloomy picture of life in his plays. His plays are rich, having an intensity of feelings and are timeless. The Glass Menagerie continues to engage the audience even today. It is not only because of the familial tensions evident in the play but the economic and cultural tensions.  Along with that, the personal struggles which relate to the lives of the audience also play an important role in its success. For this play, he is named as one of the three great twentieth-century American dramatists along with Arthur Miller and Eugene O’Neill. 

The Glass Menagerie Summary

Scene I

The first scene opens with the shot of Wingfields’ apartment; the temporal setting is the 1930s. The inhabitants are described living in a ‘hivelike conglomeration’, which comments on their financial situation. The building is shown as a dark, dirty place and is surrounded by littered alleys which excellently depicts the environment, which is a slum, St. Louis in Missouri.

Tom is seen stepping out of the fire escape. It is visible from Tom’s appearance that he is a merchant sailor. He describes himself as having a way with words. He says that he will tell a true story, but it will be made unrealistic.  He introduces himself, and the other characters of the play. He says that he was a high-school hero. The temporal setting of the play is told, which is the 1930s. The characters he introduces are his sister Laura, his mother Amanda and Jim, the gentleman caller. He also introduces his father, who is seen nowhere in the play except the photograph. Though not present except photograph, his role is influential. He has abandoned them long ago. 

Due to their financial situation, the living room is used as Laura’s bedroom. Along with the picture of his father, there are charts stuck on the wall showing typewritten pieces and shorthand notes. While Laura is shown, a French phrase appears on the screen, which means ‘where are the snows’.

In the first scene, the conflict between Tom and his mother is shown. Amanda’s desire to get Laura married is also expressed. Amanda nags Tom for not eating properly, and he takes his leave through the fire escape. She calls him to come back, which he responds by saying that he is going to take a cigarette. Laura is sitting in a dining room and offers to help Amanda, which she refuses by telling her to stay there and wait for gentlemen callers. Amanda recollects her memories of gentlemen callers when men used to be gentlemen and women gentlewomen, and there were etiquettes to talk. She tells them how many men came to court her and she rejected them all married their father. She expresses her regret by saying how she ruined her life this way.

Scene II

The second scene opens showing the image of blue roses. Laura is cleaning her glass menagerie. When she sees her mother coming, she sets it aside. She tells her mother that she has been studying the chart. Amanda has come to know from her teachers that she isn’t showing her interest in her studies. She hasn’t been studying, and Amanda uses the word ‘deception’ for her.

Laura is enrolled in typing classes at Rubicam Business College and has bunked classes for weeks. Instead, she visits the zoo, art exhibitions and flower greenhouses. She has disappointed her mother, and she is acting melodramatically. She angrily scolds her, saying that she has wasted fifty dollars on her tuition fee. She tears the chart from the wall. Amanda tells her that she is fragile, and this is the reason she cares for her more than normal. She doesn’t call her crippled; rather, she names it a minor disability.  She tells her of the consequences of being disabled. She warns her that if she hasn’t a husband or can’t earn for herself, she will live her life on relatives’ financial help and charities. She asks her if she likes any boy which she responds by affirmative saying that she likes Jim. He used to call her ‘blue roses.’ She tells her that he was engaged and would probably have married now. Laura says that she is crippled and nobody would marry her; her mother tells her not to use the word crippled.

Scene III

Tom is seen in the fire escape telling the audience about Amanda’s preparation. She is determined about gentleman caller, and their every talk includes reference to a gentleman caller. Amanda has taken up a job at a magazine, and her responsibility is to look for potential subscribers. She calls a subscriber whose subscription is about to expire; she convinces her to renew it.

 A shift is seen in this scene, and now the audience sees Amanda and Tom engaged in an argument. Laura is terrified when she sees Tom and Amanda shouting at each other. Tom is angry because Amanda has taken some of his books and reprimands him for reading it. Near the typewriter, there are documents seen, scattered in disarray. He shouts at her, saying that he earns their bread and helps them financially. He tells her that he has given up his career for the financial stability of home and he will decide his matters. The reason for this fight is probably Tom’s night ramblings. Amanda is skeptic of his activities because he stays out till late at night and often comes home drunk. She knows that if he kept doing so, it would lead to the loss of his job. Without this job, they have no source of income to sustain their life, and for this reason, she presses him to act responsibly. 

She asks him repeatedly that where does he go at nights which he responds by saying that he is an underworld don. And his enemies will come soon to blow their apartment. They exchange names, and when he is about to go, he knocks Laura’s glass menagerie, which he regrets and joins her to collect it.

Scene IV

This scene shows a drunk Tom, who is returning home at five in the morning. Laura is sleeping on the couch, and when she hears that he has come, she opens the door for him. When she asks him where he has been all night, he replies that he has been at movies. She expresses her doubt that whether he has been at movies, he tells her that the show was long. He tells her about the magician that was performing tricks, and he spent time watching him. He shows a scarf as a souvenir from the magician. When she sees it, she is amazed. When the clock strikes six, Laura is sent to wake him. She tells him to get up and apologize to Amanda. Amanda from the kitchenette asks her to bring butter. When she is leaving through the fire escape, her foot slips, and she screams which scares Amanda and Tom. But she gets up and looks fine.

At breakfast, Tom clumsily tries to apologize to Amanda. She complains of ingrate children who don’t recognize her efforts. Tom tells her that he has no contempt for her and all that happened was in anger. She tries to tell Tom that he can succeed. She tells her that he is the reason behind the family’s smooth going financial situation if he wasn’t there to earn; it would have been hard. She asks him to quit drinking. She urges him to have breakfast which he refuses and asks for black coffee which is an indication that he is hungover.

Amanda looks concerned for Laura and implores him never to desert them. She asks him if he wants to leave, he should find a replacement who can provide Laura of her basic needs. He replies that he will find a gentleman caller. She asks him not to be selfish. Tom is frustrated by this talk and at leaving assures her that he will find a replacement.

Scene V

Tom is seen reading a newspaper and has had dinner. Amanda and Laura clear the table and wash dishes. Amanda tells him to comb his hair, but instead, he leaves through the fire escape to smoke. She reprimands him for spending too much money on smoking. She advises him to spend this money instead on night school, which he responds by saying that he will spend it on smoking.

Now, Tom resumes the role of the narrator and tells the audience about the Paradise Dance Hall. This hall is not far away from their apartment. He tells about the view of PDH, from the fire escape. Rainbow color lights are seen to emanate from this hall and music is heard. He describes the carefree dancers and their fairyland where there are no worries. He relates the atrocity of Guernica and says that the same fate is going to be theirs.

Amanda comes and joins him on the fire escape. He surprises her by telling her that he has found a gentleman caller for Laura and he is coming the next day. She is startled because she hasn’t got enough time to make everything presentable. She wants to sweep the floors, bring a new lamp and wear good clothes on this occasion because this is a great event for her. She wants Tom to investigate regarding the gentleman caller’s character. Her particular concern is about the habit of drinking; she doesn’t want Laura’s husband to be a drunkard.

Then Tom describes this gentleman caller, and his name is Jim O’Connor. He is a shipping clerk at a warehouse and earns eighty-five dollars a month. He doesn’t drink heavily. He is not very much good looking, nor he is too ugly. He is an ambitious person and attends a night school to improve himself. Tom is worried because he has not mentioned Laura’s disability to Jim. But Amanda is confident that she will prove herself able to enchant him. Tom asks her not to be that confident because she looks beautiful to them for the reason that she lives with them. He mentions her as crippled and results in anger from Amanda, who expresses scorn for this word. He mentions that she has peculiar habits and takes leave for movies. Amanda asks Laura to come to the fire escape and ask the moon for her wishes, happiness and good fortune.

Scene VI

Again in this scene, Tom has assumed the role of the narrator. He talks about Jim and tells about his previous life that he has been the class hero. He was the class president, basketball star and led the light operas, but now the situation is completely different. They are no better than each other; he earns a bit more than he does. They know each other at work, and nobody remembers his past glory. Jim has helped Tom overcome social problems because the rest of the workers disliked him for his odd behavior and aloofness from them. Jim knows much about him there and calls him ‘Shakespeare’ because he avoids others’ eyes and spends some moments in writing poetry.

Amanda has improved Wingfield’s apartment through her efforts, and now it looks much better. Laura and Amanda wait for the gentleman caller who is about to come. Amanda engages in comical interaction with her daughter and tells her to stuff her bra. Then again, she recollects her memories of her youth days when gentleman callers came to ask for her hand. She ends her story by the painful memory of marriage with Mr. Wingfield.

When Laura is told the name of a gentleman caller, she is horrified. She is irritated and tells her mother that she will stay inside and won’t talk to him. She thinks that it may be the same Jim on whom she had a crush in high school. When the doorbell rings, she at the insistence of her mother goes to open the door and let in the men. She is introduced to him and after the introduction flees to her room. Jim is a boisterous person and incessantly talks about self-improvement courses. He tells Tom that his boss is not happy with his work and if he didn’t improve he will be out of work. He asks Tom to join him in a self-improvement course which he refuses and asks him to join him in Merchant Seamen. Tom talks about movies and tells him that he will quit movies because they make a man less adventurous and he is happy watching others’ adventure.  A few whiles later, Amanda enters and is wearing clothes like young girls and starts talking with Jim.

They sit for supper, but Laura is absent, she has refused to come. She can be seen lying on the couch and trying no to weep.

Scene VII

In half an hour they finish the supper, and as they finish dinner light goes out. Tom tells them that he is not aware of the reason for the power cut. Amanda lights candles and asks Jim to check the fuse which he checks and comes back telling that it looks fine. Amanda asks Jim to go to the living room and spend time with Laura.

Jim joins Laura in the living room, and they get frank with each other, especially Laura feels easy. She tells him about being his classmate in music class in high school. She reminds him that he used to call her blue roses. He is ashamed that why he didn’t recognize her at once. She relates her memories of music class. They talk friendly about the past times, and he reveals that he never got engaged. He tells her that it was his old girlfriend who had put the news in the yearbook. Jim talks to her about self-improvement and tells her about his intentions to work in the television industry. He tells her the importance of money and power in society and refers to them as democracy’s foundations.

Jim looks at Laura’s glass collection. She tells him about the glass unicorn. As the music sound from Paradise Dance Hall grows louder, Jim grows flirtatious and asks her to dance with him. She after a little insistence joins him in dance, but they jostle, and the unicorn’s horn is broken. He apologizes for this damage, and she tells him not to worry. Jim praises her beauty and character. He kisses her, but suddenly he regrets this step and tells a while later Laura that he is engaged. She gives him the broken souvenir, and he takes his leave. When he is stepping out of the door, Amanda asks him to come again. He tells her that he is going to marry his old girlfriend, and nobody is aware of it at his workplace.

Amanda is angry at Tom and blames him for mocking them this way. She is furious that he brought another woman’s fiancé to her daughter. She is shaken, and this evening proves much grave for them. Tom tells Amanda that he is leaving for movies and she blames him again for deserting his mother and ‘crippled sister.’

Tom tells the audience that after that, he left St. Louis forever and never came back there. He tried to erase the memory of his mother and sister from his mind, but he couldn’t. In the end, he ends her memory by blowing her candles because the world is now lit by lighting. He says goodbye, and in the background, Laura blows the candles.

The Glass Menagerie Characters Analysis

Tom Wingfield

Tom is the young protagonist and the narrator of the play. He is the one who can’t decide between staying at home and fleeing. He is facing an existentialist dilemma, and for this, he has to face the consequences, because freedom wants a sacrifice.

He is a character who exists both inside and outside the play. He relates the story of his past before he became a merchant sailor. He is a talkative person and shares much. He ironically describes some moments in his life in a funny way to make them lose their pungent smell. An instance of it is his father who deserted them and contacted them through phone, so he calls him a ‘telephone man.’

From his talk, he gives the impression that he hates his being a wanderer. He feels relief for the step that he took to abandon his family. Though there are bouts of remorse that occupy his mind, he loves his sister and shows affection for her throughout the play.

From this, we can conclude that this relationship suggests something more than the relationship between a brother and sister. He calls himself a poet and a character at the factory names him ‘Shakespeare.’ His talk is poetry like. Tom is rarely seen in a cheerful, light mood and often complains of the problems in his life. Humor is a source of little relief to Tom, and ofttimes he uses bitter humor.

He leads a miserable life which is divided between self and responsibilities. He is fond of watching movies because they are a source of relief for him from the miseries of life. He is coming of age in a period when war is imminent and awaits to ruin the lives of millions like him. He is not only a character, but he also represents a whole generation.

Laura Wingfield

Laura is Tom’s sister. She is a disabled person, and this disability has ruined her life. She can’t live and enjoy life normally like others. She is a loveable and pitiable character at a time. Her life is led by illusions of good times that are to come. She can’t be part of the normal society of people, so she escapes from such places; an example of it is from typing class. She has created her imaginary world and is happy in it. She loves her glass animals, and the unicorn has a special attraction for her.

 She is an emotionally and physically fragile person and loves to stay with fragile glass animals. Out of the three family members, she is the most endangered because she lacks both potential and ability. Neither can she face, nor she has the ability to desert family. It seems that her whole life will be led in this miserable condition. She can’t accept herself being different and mentions it to Jim when she tells him about her high school days. She is an innocent character, and she doesn’t know how much pain her mother and brother feel for her. 

She tries to help her family, but she can’t, and that adds to her miseries. For this reason, she tries to hide in herself. She doesn’t have self-confidence, though Jim revives it in her for a few minutes it doesn’t last long.

Amanda Wingfield

Amanda is Tom and Laura’s mother. She has faced miseries all her life, and this has made her complaining of the miseries incessantly. She is the one who moves the play and is worthy of being called the main character of the play. She has a complex and stimulating personality. Her husband has deserted her and left her in hell, surrounded by problems. She is a strong person and wants her children to get out of this mess and struggles by putting her best efforts.

Though Tom is rebellious to his mother, still he respects her. She lives in her irrational romantic past, which is long gone, but she finds it a place of respite. Though she shows silliness ofttimes but overall, she is a practical person and has plans for her children to get them out of hell. She believes that happiness lies in financial stability and preaches this belief. She is a good mother and has raised her children through hardships when her husband deserted them. In the closing scenes, she is seen to stand by her daughter when Tom has abandoned them.

Jim O’Connor

Tom describes Jim in the opening scene as a representative of the world of reality. He is a nice young man who believes in efforts and considers them a ladder to make men move upward. He is a hardworking, responsible and good-mannered person. But all this is apparently so because he is a man from the world of reality. In the world of reality, appearances are often deceptive, and he proves so, disappointing all!

He is a confident person. If his academic record is kept in mind, he shouldn’t have been where he is. He believes in self-improvement, which will pave the way for his success. He has his own dreams and imagines the success that is about to come. But this success may also be an illusion. He is an egoistic person and refuses to take Laura’s hand when he is reminded of his high school days. He is not satisfied with easily achieved goals.

Mr. Wingfield

Mr. Wingfield is the fifth character in this play. He doesn’t appear throughout the play and is introduced by his son through his photograph. He has abandoned his family and ruined their lives.  He can be held responsible for the majority of the miseries in the lives of his wife and children.

Themes in The Glass Menagerie

Illusion

We live in two worlds at a time; one is the world of illusions and imaginations while the other is the world of reality. No human being can escape this world of illusions, and it is an inevitable part of his/her life. Harmless illusions keep us balanced between the world of reality and our ideal life that we imagine. Illusions often help heal the pain of disappointments, and we weave our own world through them. If they are not there, pain is hard to bear and can even lead to grave tragedies like suicide.

In this play, the hopelessness of Amanda is countered by illusions of a gentleman caller who comes and deceives them. But still, there is hope that the situation will get better. Amanda has her illusions when she thinks about the seventeen gentlemen callers. This helps her forget the painful memory of Mr. Wingfield. Tom is also finding escape in illusions when he goes daily to watch movies. Laura finds respite in the world of glass animals. Thus each of them has found an illusionary world to escape from the harsh realities.

Escape

Themes of escape and illusion are first cousins in this play. All the characters think that an escape is possible, though it is a delusion. Amanda is busy daydreaming about her girlhood trying to escape and leading herself to a delusion. None is able to escape except Mr. Wingfield, who has taken the way to flee before the start of the play.

In the same manner, Tom is trying to escape from his family and responsibilities, which is again a delusion. Because man can find escape nowhere, everywhere there are problems. Everywhere there is an absurdity and if one tries to escape from it, where can it lead? Death? Who knows what lies ahead of it? A new absurdity? Probably!

Fragility

Laura is the best possible embodiment of a fragile character. She is physically and psychologically fragile.  She has seen a life that is filled with miseries, and she longs for joys which unfortunately she can’t have due to her physical disability. Leave alone Laura, the rest of the characters are not strong as well. Their lives are built on fragile foundations, illusions, which will fall into pieces if illusions are taken out of their life. The temporal setting of the play also suggests the fragility of many cultures and countries which fell into pieces in a single attack. Thus fragility represents the overall weaknesses that weave the world of illusions.

Family and Psyche

Williams is dissatisfied with the conditions of existence. If his ideal of family is reduced to short gestures of kindness, then the life forces of sex and fecundity come in competition with spirit. If this analysis is taken further, we can conclude that according to him, a family is antithetical to the free existence of the human spirit. He does so by showing the relations of individuals with family painful and evocative. His overemphasis on certain facts about family life is an indication of cruelty and destruction of family life according to him. His plays which are most successful clearly portray the dilemma of family life.

Light

Light is shown dim because this play is a memory play. Light is used as a motif because with the passage of time details of an event escape from the memory. This technique is employed to keep the details not clearly visible.  Light carries other connotations like the creation of rainbow, which gives hope but can’t be achieved, the same happens in this play with Laura when Jim deceives her and then deserts. When light passes through the glass, it gives rainbow, and when it is shattered, it is an impression of shattering of dreams.  Laura’s image is associated with candlelight, and he wants it to wan when it is blown as happens in the end. So light is used successfully as a theme in this play.

Failure and Myth of Success

Amanda, like typical twentieth-century people, believes in myths. Like other people, she has a belief that money brings happiness. She has remorse for past that if she had married a wealthy suitor, her life wouldn’t have been that miserable. She believes that hardworking people are wealthy and thus happy, which is a false conclusion from true premises. She has hopes for Tom that he will succeed if he works hard and saves money. She wants her children to be part of the sophisticated class. Thus through the failure of characters in the play, the failure of America on the larger level is shown. This way myth and failure are shown as recurring motifs in this play as well in capitalist American society.

American Memory

As the play comes to an end, audiences’ applause confirms it as an immortal masterpiece, but the story doesn’t end here. The characters, especially Amanda and Laura, haunt the audience. Though this is shown as a memory play, it doesn’t represent individual memory. It is remorse knocking at the mind whenever the audience remembers it.

There is a constant feeling of remorse felt for being an accomplice in ruining lives through being part of a cruel system. The story of American change from civilization to barbarism is told using Amanda’s character. Its universal human appeal transcends nations, cultures and regions. Its setting is authentic and gives an air of American society of the 1930s and the tragedies that happened. It makes them part of history, which is a collective memory of individuals.

The Glass Menagerie Analysis

A strange thing in this play is the lack of dramatic action in this play, and the playwright was aware of it. Only two lines of thought are touched in the play, which is Tom’s obsession with the thought of escape and Amanda’s obsession to get Laura married. Thus the true dramatic actions can be summarized into Amanda and Tom’s clash and Jim’s arrival. Williams thought the time of realism in the theatre was over, so he mixed reality with illusion and symbol, which led to the birth of this masterpiece.

 A critic, Londre, has referred to the splitting of scenes in this play to the nature of memory, describing it as an expressionistic device. This structure not only brings the image of memory fragmented into pieces but the shattered pieces of glass as well. The division into seven scenes not only have temporal connotations but religious connotations as well. In the seventh scene, there is a desire in the audience to see to it prove lucky, which shows the successful use of symbols. The plot is superfluous, and the playwright’s approach towards the plot is minimal where minimal actions of characters can be seen. 

This deceptively simple play has encapsulated the universal human experience of the conflict between freedom and duty, internal and external, self and other, religious and domestic experience.

Setting of the Play

Temporal setting 1939, signifies the imminent dangers of war and not completely rid of the great depression. Both these, in turn, signify the social disaster that is to come. The spatial setting of the play signifies the unruly conditions of the residents of slums who are suffering under the yoke of capitalism and changing traditions. Previously human beings were conceived as living beings, but with capitalism, an individual has come to be considered as a commodity.

Cinematic Devices

Cinema is a place of escape from the devilish realities of the world. Williams has asserted it through Tom’s mouth whenever he is asked where he is going he responds that he is going to movies. Going to movies gives Tom a temporary respite from the unpleasant life of the apartment. In the same manner, Williams went to movies when he was young and couldn’t find any other escape from problems. This is an introduction to the dominant cultural ideology to give a new solution to problems.

American and European Influences

Williams was influenced by American as well as European writers like D. H. Lawrence, Chekhov, Hart Crane, Samuel Beckett and many others. He was attracted to Lawrence because of his emphasis on sexuality. He regarded sex as a balancing force between flesh and spirit. This motif has been taken by Williams successfully in this play where Amanda thinks that Laura’s miseries will end if she gets married.

Anti-Hero

Williams’ most striking feature in this drama is the use of anti-hero as a protagonist. He rejects the Aristotelian concept of a hero who is a modest character. In contrast to this, he chose a character who is neither knowledgeable, courageous, nor good. Thus he presented the concept of a modern hero who is an anti-hero. Through this convention, he has challenged the traditions and tried to redefine the concepts.

 Memory Play

The unique thing about this play is it’s being a memory play. Tim Wingfield has both the roles of the narrator and the character. The audience is given the special privileges, in contrast to realistic plays, to watch Tom’s most private place, which is his memory. Thus they have direct access to the drama that is going on psychologically, as well as the drama that is taking place originally. Thus the actions are complete, and the audience not only watches but feels what is taking place in the life of Tom. This is done to approach the experience more closely. To reinforce this concept, light is kept dim throughout the play.

Style

It is poetic play, as is evident from the first scene. Tom, who is the narrator, uses words playfully. Illusions and truth can’t be discerned in what he relates. His language is alliterative and uses metaphors. Characters in the play are gifted in talking. The characters in the play are fond of figurative language and lengthy speeches. As stated earlier, this is a memory play, so Amanda is drawn like Williams’ mother, and we never hear anything vulgar from her. We can see that Amanda wants her children refined like herself, in habits and talk.

Point of View

Tom’s character in this play is both of a character and a narrator. In several instances, he is seen outside the Wingfields’ apartment in the fire escape and directly talking to the audience. He talks about the past, which is about two or three years back when he left his family. His role is to give background information, comment on the situation and establish the mood.

He is aware of the fallibility of the memory, and that’s the reason he tells the audience that it will be unrealistically represented. Memory, according to him, is in heart, so there will be certain relaxations given, and he will try to relate it, though not precisely. Every event that we can see is filtered through Tom’s mind, and every feeling that audience gets is that of the narrator. He is the emotional guide in the play. He is often seen speaking ironically, so it inverts the feelings that he has shown.

Form and Structure

This play is constituted of seven scenes, four of which are in winter while the rest are in the following spring. There are no formal acts seen in the play, so it is upon the director’s choice to mark the time of intermission. Williams tried to arrange it using some images, but much of directors don’t bother about it. As discussed, Tom’s role is that of narrator and character, so he is seen throughout and is in the present. As it is a memory play, so it isn’t necessary to present it in chronological order. There are movements forward and backwards from past to present.

One thing that needs to be considered is whether he really escaped because the events he relates describe the time before he left. This gives rise to the ambiguity, that did he really leave them?

 Symbol, Myth and Ritual

Two types of symbols are used in this play, which is concrete and transcendent. As stated earlier, dim light reinforces the play’s perception as memory and is used as a symbol.  Color is also used as a symbol in this play. On each character, different color of light is focused to show his/her characteristic traits. Dress color is an additional symbol aiding to the audience’s perception of a character.

In the title The Glass Menagerie, glass represents fragility, which is a psychological equivalent of desperation, confusion or emotional fragility. Glass is reflective as well multifaceted which may indicate joy, exploration of one’s self, or narcissism. There is a frequent mention of fire escape which doesn’t mean liberty but rather the opposite.

Some actions are also used symbolically, which represent disappointment and utter absurdity.