Movies - The Glass Menagerie

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	Movies - The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie is a play by Tennessee Williams. The play premiered in Chicago on December 26, 1944, and in 1945 won the prestigious New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The Glass Menagerie was Williams's first highly successful play; he went on to become one of America's most highly-regarded playwrights.

Synopsis

The play is set in St. Louis in 1937, and deals with the troubled relationship between an aging mother, Amanda Wingfield, and her painfully shy daughter Laura Wingfield, as told by the son and brother, Tom Wingfield, who is supposedly recalling events from his memory. He states that the play is not completely realistic, because "memory takes much poetic license."

Amanda is fixated on her overly idealized version of her Southern childhood, recalling days when as many as seventeen gentleman callers would visit her. She is, however, grimly aware of her reality. Her husband, described as a "telephone man who fell in love with long distance," has abandoned the family and forced her to make a living by selling magazine subscriptions. Laura, who must wear a brace due to her physical handicap, has become cripplingly shy as a result. Instead of the frightening world outside, she prefers the comfort of her collection of glass animals and the sounds of her father's old victrola records. Finally, she sees Tom as a "selfish dreamer" who irresponsibly retreats into movies, alcohol, and novels instead of responsibly providing for the family.

Amanda soon discovers that Laura, instead of attending business college, dropped out after a few days. Sensing her mother's disappointment, Laura explains that she was frightened and embarrassed, becoming physically ill the first day. Her hopes of Laura's employment dashed, Amanda resolves to find a suitable companion for Laura, fearing that she will become like the "barely tolerated spinsters" she recalls from her past. Laura is less enthusiastic, but nevertheless mentions a boy she liked in high school, named Jim.

Meanwhile, Tom and Amanda's relationship grows even more strained, illustrated by a quarrel in scene 3. The fight is sparked by Amanda's returning one of Tom's D. H. Lawrence novels to the library, which she sees as obscene "filth". At the climax of the argument, Tom hurls Amanda's coat across the room and breaks some of Laura's glass animals; at the sound, she cries out as in pain.

In the next scene, Tom apologizes for the fight, and Amanda asks him to find a clean-living man from the warehouse to meet Laura over dinner. Somewhat reluctantly, he does so, and in scene five announces that he has found one: an Irish Catholic man named Jim O'Connor. Ecstatic, Amanda interrogates Tom about his suitability and frantically prepares for his arrival, tidying the house and fussing over Laura's appearance. However, once Amanda mentions Jim's name, Laura immediately recognizes him as the boy she loved in high school and pales. Once he arrives at dinner, Laura is so nervous she can barely come to the dinner table. After entertaining Jim at dinner, Amanda leaves the room to do dishes, leaving him alone with Laura.

During their conversation, Jim judges Laura as the victim of an inferiority complex, and advises her to see herself as "superior in some way", relating his own experience and goals for the future - in his case, television. Jim manages to coax Laura out of her shyness. She shows him her collection of glass, noting a unicorn as her favorite. Laura even agrees to dance with him after he offers. Inadvertently, Jim breaks the unicorn; Laura says it is no trouble, imagining that it had an operation to feel less "freakish". Eventually, Jim kisses Laura; however, he quickly realizes this mistake and hurriedly explains that he is engaged to a girl named Betty, proceeding to expound on how this engagement has changed him through love. Laura, crushed, offers him the broken unicorn as a "souvenir".

Amanda returns and soon discovers Jim's engagement for herself. When Jim leaves, she blames Tom for the situation; furious, Tom leaves for good. As Amanda is shown comforting Laura, silently, Tom delivers a soliloquy, revealing that he was never fully able to abandon their memory. The play closes with an image of Laura blowing out the candles, leaving darkness.

Symbolism

Like most of Williams' works, The Glass Menagerie is rich in symbolism. Probably the most prominent is that of the glass menagerie itself; it symbolizes Laura's fragility and delicacy, qualities that contrast with the bleak setting. The unicorn in particular represents her as well, being different from other horses; other critics interpret it to represent her illusions about Jim. When he breaks it, the action foreshadows his ensuing revelation.

The setting contains much symbolism as well. The fire escape (a name described as having "poetic truth"), one of Tom's chosen retreats, parallels his desire and eventual escape from reality. Tom's recounting of the stage show given by Malvolio is similar. Across the alley from the house is the Paradise Dance Hall; as its name suggests, it is a surrogate paradise for the people who frequent it.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Glass Menagerie ]

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