The Glass Menagerie 

 

 

 

Characters

 

Amanda Wingfield. The Mother - a woman “of great but confused vitality” whose husband left her with two children to raise.Amanda clings to another time and place. 

 

Laura Wingfield. The Daughter –a girl afraid to leave the family’s apartment. She collects glass animal figurines, the menagerie of the play’s title. 

 

Tom Wingfield. The Son & Narrator –Tom wants to be a poet but must work in a warehouse to support the family. 

 

Jim O’Connor. The Gentlemen Caller –A young man who works with Tom. “Jim is imbued with the American spirit of self-improvement.” 

 

 

The Author

Tennessee Williams 

Thomas Lanier Williams was born on March 26, 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi. His father, Cornelius Coffin Williams, was a shoe salesman who spent a great deal of his time away from the family. Williams had one older sister and one younger brother. They spent much of their childhood in the home of their maternal grandfather who was an Episcopal minister. In 1927, at sixteen years old, Williams got his first taste of literary acclaim when he placed third in a national essay contest sponsored by The Smart Set magazine. The essay was entitled “Can a Good Wife Be a Good Sport?” Williams studied for several years at the University of Missouri, but withdrew before completing his degree and took a job in St. Louis at the International Shoe Company where his father worked. Other odd jobs with which he supported himself included waiter, elevator operator, and theater usher. He eventually returned to school and received a degree from the University of Iowa in 1938. Whether in school or working in the factory, Williams was constantly writing. In 1939, Williams moved to New Orleans and formally adopted his college nickname “Tennessee” - which was the state of his father’s birth. 1

 

Symbols

𐁆 The menagerie of glass, Laura’s collection of animal figurines, represents the fragile relationships among all the characters. The glass unicorn is most obviously a symbol of Laura—delicate, sadly different, an anomaly in the modern world. But, like Laura and like the shining perfume bottles in the lighted shop windows Tom passes, the unicorn is a beautiful object. The glass motif recurs throughout the play in other forms. Laura visits the conservatory at the zoo, a glass house of tropical flowers that are as vulnerable as she is. A glass sphere that hangs from the ceiling of the Paradise Dance Hall reflects rainbow colors and represents the dreams of the dancers. Laura is spoken of as “translucent glass,” while the practical and prosaic gentleman caller protests before dancing with Laura, “I’m not made out of glass.” 

 

𐁆 Lighting in the play is significant for several reasons. In the play’s original production notes, Williams describes the lighting as “dim and poetic”. The lighting, along with the “gauze curtains”, lends an unreal aura to the set, suggesting that this family functions in a world of dreams. Like the tricks Tom professes to have up his sleeve. Lighting gives truth “the pleasant disguise of illusion.” In another function, lighting serves to punctuate scenes focusing on absent characters. Several times with the lighting of the original production, we are reminded of the “fifth character” in the play, Mr. Wingfield, who appears only through a photograph. 

 

𐁆 color in the play, most notably blue, is associated with Laura, and yellow, is commonly linked with Amanda. Jim’s nickname for Laura, Blue Roses, suggests a phenomenon that is contrary to nature. There is an opposition between these strange, different flowers and the natural, gay jonquils associated with Amanda. In the original version of the play, Amanda’s party dress was described as “a girlish frock of yellowed voile” and the light that surrounds her as “lemony.” The color comes to suggest Amanda’s outgoing and optimistic attitude just as blue denotes the melancholy outlook of Laura. 

 

𐁆 Music is used throughout to evoke mood and haunt memory, reinforcing the symbolism of the play. Williams once described the recurring glass menagerie theme as a tune that is light, delicate, and sad, fragile as spun glass. He added, “It is primarily Laura’s music and therefore comes out most clearly when the play focuses upon her and the lovely fragility of glass which is her image.” 

 

𐁆 These elements of glass, light, color, and music are drawn together in the ending scenes of the play. The final appearance of Amanda and Laura is played “as though viewed through soundproof glass.” Thus the viewer, like Tom, is repeatedly lured back by familiar bits of music, by a piece of transparent glass, or by tiny bottles in delicate colors that suggest “bits of a shattered rainbow.” We are drawn back to scenes and characters in the play, settings and people who refuse to be left behind.  2

 

 People  -Places -Things

Ash pits: large mounds of ash left over from coal furnaces. “You could see them behind ash pits and telephone poles.” Tom Scene 5. 

Berchtesgaden: an area of southeastern Germany, now a national park, known for breathtaking views of the German Alps. “Suspended in the mist over Berchtesgaden…” Tom Scene 5. 

Blanc mange: a sweet, molded gelatin dessert made with milk. “I’ll bring in the blanc mange.” Laura Scene 1. 

Blue Mountain: the small town in northern Mississippi where Amanda grew up. “One Sunday afternoon in Blue Mountain – your mother received – seventeen! – gentlemen callers!” Amanda Scene 1. 

Cakewalk: a dance with a strutting step based on a promenade. “Won the cakewalk twice at Sunset Hill…” Amanda Scene 6. 

Celotex:a type of fiber board used for building insulation. “You think I want to spend fifty-five years in that - celotex interior!” Tom Scene 3. 

Century of Progress: an international faire held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934, the theme of which was science and industry. “…I saw it when I went up to the Century of Progress.” Jim Scene 7. 

Cotillion: a formal ball where debutantes are presented. “This is the dress in which I lead the cotillion.” Amanda Scene 6. 

D.A.R.: Daughters of the American Revolution; national women’s organization of descendents of patriots of the American Revolution. “Didn’t you go to the D.A.R. meeting, Mother.” Laura Scene 1. 

Daumier: French painter, sculptor and caricaturist, known in his lifetime chiefly as a social and political satirist. “Its light on her face with its aged but childish features is cruelly sharp, satirical as a Daumier print.” SD Scene 4. 

Doughboy: a nickname for WWI infantrymen. “It is the face of a very handsome young man in a doughboy’s First World War cap.” SD Scene 1. 

Franco: (1892-1975) general during the Spanish Civil War who eventually became the ruler of Spain. “Tom slouches on the sofa with the evening paper. Its enormous headline reads: ‘Franco Triumphs’.” SD Scene 5. 

Guernica: a town in the Basque region of Spain that was the site of a massive and brutal attack during the Spanish Civil War. “In Spain there was Guernica.” Tom Scene 1. 

Hogan Gang: an infamous crime family from St. Louis. “I’ve joined the Hogan Gang, I’m a hired assassin…” Tom Scene 3. 

Jonquils: a species of narcissus having a small yellow flower. “That was the Spring I had the craze for jonquils.” Amanda Scene 6. 

Jolly Roger: the black flag with skull and crossbones associated with pirates. “Image on screen: A sailing vessel with Jolly Roger.” SD Scene 4. 

Lawrence, D.H.: (1885-1930) English novelist and poet best known at that time for Sons and Lovers. “That hideous book buy that insane Mr. Lawrence.” Amanda Scene 3. 

Malaria: an infectious disease transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. It is characterized by fever and severe chills. “I had malaria fever all that Spring.” Amanda Scene 6. 

Mazda lamp: first lighted lamp invented by Thomas Edison. “…before Mr. Edison made the Mazda lamp.” Amanda Scene 7. 

Metropolitan star: a star in New York’s Metropolitan Opera, one of the foremost opera companies in the world. “Temperament like a Metropolitan star!” Amanda Scene 1. 

Merchant Marine: the fleet of US ships that carried imports and exports during peacetime and became a naval auxiliary during wartime to deliver troops and war materials. “I saw that letter you got from the Merchant Marine.s” Amanda Scene 4.  

The Pirates of Penzance: 19^th century operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan. “Here he is in the Pirates of Penzance.” Laura Scene 2. 

Pleurosis: an inflammation of the lungs, characterized by chills, fever, painful breathing and coughing. “I said pleurosis – he thought that I said Blue Roses!” Laura Scene 2. 

Portiere: a heavy curtain hung across a doorway. “Tom divides the portieres and enters the dining room.” SD Scene 1. 

Purina: a hot multi-grain breakfast cereal made from oats, wheat, and millet. “Eat a bowl of Purina!” Amanda Scene 4. 

Quinine: a bitter extract from cinchona bark used as a tonic to treat malaria. “I took quinine, but kept on going, going!” Amanda Scene 6. 7 

 

 

Vocabulary Terms  

allusion 

archetype 

automatism 

conglomeration 

czar 

debutante 

emissary 

emulate 

fiasco 

imminent 

implacable 

impudence 

incredulous

 indolent  

 

Ou sont les neiges?: French - Where are the snows? “Legend on screen: Ou sont les neiges?” SD Scene 1. 

Ou sont les neiges d’antan?: French – Where are the snows of yesteryear? “Screen legend: Ou sont les neiges d’antan?” SD Scene 1.  

matriculate 

menagerie 

negligence 

paragon 

querulous 

rejuvenate 

sensuous 

supercilious 

tenement 

translucent 

tribulations 

tumult 

ulterior 

vestige 

vivacity 

 

Student Projects

Plugin error: googlegadget (Plugin not found ../common/plugins/googlegadget.inc)

 

Footnotes

1 www.lambda.net 

2 www.bolles.org