The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams 

The Glass Menagerie is a memory play, and its action is drawn from the memories of the narrator, Tom Wingfield.

Tom is a character in the play, which is set in St. Louis in 1937.

He is an aspiring poet who toils in a shoe warehouse to support his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura. Mr. Wingfield, Tom and Laura’s father, ran off years ago and, except for one postcard, has not been heard from since.

Amanda, originally from a genteel Southern family, regales her children frequently with tales of her idyllic youth and the scores of suitors who once pursued her.

She is disappointed that Laura, who wears a brace on her leg and is painfully shy, does not attract any gentlemen callers.

She enrolls Laura in a business college, hoping that she will make her own and the family’s fortune through a business career.

Weeks later, however, Amanda discovers that Laura’s crippling shyness has led her to drop out of the class secretly and spend her days wandering the city alone.

Amanda then decides that Laura’s last hope must lie in marriage and begins selling magazine subscriptions to earn the extra money she believes will help to attract suitors for Laura.

Meanwhile, Tom, who loathes his warehouse job, finds escape in liquor, movies, and literature, much to his mother’s chagrin.

During one of the frequent arguments between mother and son, Tom accidentally breaks several of the glass animal figurines that are Laura’s most prized possessions. Amanda and Tom discuss Laura’s prospects, and Amanda asks Tom to keep an eye out for potential suitors at the warehouse.

Tom selects Jim O’Connor, a casual friend, and invites him to dinner.

Amanda quizzes Tom about Jim and is delighted to learn that he is a driven young man with his mind set on career advancement.

She prepares an elaborate dinner and insists that Laura wear a new dress.

At the last minute, Laura learns the name of her caller; as it turns out, she had a devastating crush on Jim in high school.

When Jim arrives, Laura answers the door, on Amanda’s orders, and then quickly disappears, leaving Tom and Jim alone.

Tom confides to Jim that he has used the money for his family’s electric bill to join the merchant marine and plans to leave his job and family in search of adventure.

Laura refuses to eat dinner with the others, feigning illness.

Amanda, wearing an ostentatious dress from her glamorous youth, talks vivaciously with Jim throughout the meal. As dinner is ending, the lights go out as a consequence of the unpaid electric bill.

The characters light candles, and Amanda encourages Jim to entertain Laura in the living room while she and Tom clean up.

Laura is at first paralyzed by Jim’s presence, but his warm and open behavior soon draws her out of her shell.

She confesses that she knew and liked him in high school but was too shy to approach him.

They continue talking, and Laura reminds him of the nickname he had given her: “Blue Roses,” an accidental corruption of pleurosis, an illness Laura had in high school.

He reproaches her for her shyness and low self-esteem but praises her uniqueness.

Laura then ventures to show him her favorite glass animal, a unicorn.

Jim dances with her, but in the process, he accidentally knocks over the unicorn, breaking off its horn.

Laura is forgiving, noting that now the unicorn is a normal horse.

Jim then kisses her, but he quickly draws back and apologizes, explaining that he was carried away by the moment and that he actually has a serious girlfriend.

Resigned, Laura offers him the broken unicorn as a souvenir. Amanda enters the living room, full of good cheer.

Jim hastily explains that he must leave because of an appointment with his fiancée.

Amanda sees him off warmly but, after he is gone, turns on Tom, who had not known that Jim was engaged.

Amanda accuses Tom of being an inattentive, selfish dreamer and then throws herself into comforting Laura.

From the fire escape outside of their apartment, Tom watches the two women and explains that, not long after Jim’s visit, he gets fired from his job and leaves Amanda and Laura behind.

Years later, though he travels far, he finds that he is unable to leave behind guilty memories of Laura.

About The Glass Menagerie - By Tennessee Williams

About The Glass Menagerie -Character List

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 1

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 2

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 3

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 4

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 5

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 6

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 7

The Glass Menagerie - Character Analysis Amanda Wingfield

The Glass Menagerie - Character Analysis Tom Wingfield

The Glass Menagerie - Character Analysis Laura Wingfield

The Glass Menagerie - Character Analysis Jim O'Connor

The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams Biography

The Glass Menagerie - Study Help Essay Questions

The Glass Menagerie - Quiz

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The Glass Menagerie Questions and Answers

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The Glass Menagerie - Quiz Not rated yet
Quiz Amanda knows Tom’s letter from the Merchant Marine means what? He has grounds for an insurance claim. He has located his …

The Glass Menagerie - Study Help Essay Questions Not rated yet
Study Help Essay Questions 1. How does the fire escape function as a symbol to reveal something about each character's personality? …

The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams Biography Not rated yet
Tennessee Williams Biography More than with most authors, Tennessee Williams' personal life and experiences have been the direct subject matter …

The Glass Menagerie - Character Analysis Jim O'Connor Not rated yet
Character Analysis Jim O'Connor In the character descriptions preceding the play, Jim is described as a "nice, ordinary, young man." He is …

The Glass Menagerie - Character Analysis Laura Wingfield Not rated yet
Character Analysis Laura Wingfield Laura is presented as an extremely shy and sensitive person. Her shyness is emphasized even more by being …

The Glass Menagerie - Character Analysis Tom Wingfield Not rated yet
Character Analysis Tom Wingfield Tom Wingfield was the potentially creative character caught in a conventional and materialistic world. He …

The Glass Menagerie - Character Analysis Amanda Wingfield Not rated yet
Character Analysis Amanda Wingfield Amanda Wingfield lives in a world that fluctuates between illusion and reality. When it is convenient to …

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 7 Not rated yet
Summary and Analysis Scene 7 Summary As the curtain rises, we see Laura still lying huddled on the sofa. Just as the others are finishing …

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 6 Not rated yet
Summary and Analysis Scene 6 Summary Tom explains about Jim O'Connor. In high school, he had been the outstanding boy who had won …

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 5 Not rated yet
Summary and Analysis Scene 5 Summary The scene opens with Amanda instructing Tom to comb his hair and not to smoke so much. …

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 4 Not rated yet
Summary At the beginning of the scene, Tom is just returning from the movies. He explains to Laura, who is awake, that the movie was very long, …

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 3 Not rated yet
Summary Tom explains how his mother, once she had decided that a gentleman caller was necessary, set all her energy to preparing for one. She …

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 2 Not rated yet
Summary Laura is sitting alone playing with her glass collection. When she hears Amanda ascending the stairs, she immediately hides the collection …

The Glass Menagerie - Summary and Analysis Scene 1 Not rated yet
Summary At the rise of the curtain, we see an old-fashioned tenement apartment. We can also see the narrow alleyways which surround the apartment. …

About The Glass Menagerie -Character List Not rated yet
Character List Amanda Wingfield The mother whose husband deserted her years ago leaving her with a son and daughter to raise. She lives …

About The Glass Menagerie - By Tennessee Williams Not rated yet
About The Glass Menagerie The structure of the play involves the presentation of the scenes through the memory of one of the characters. …

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