Blog Post #5: The Glass Menagerie

Blog Post #5: The Glass Menagerie

            When reading a play that follows traditional style, the plot unfolds in a linear fashion, in many ways spoon-feeding the audience what to see and believe as some form of reality is portrayed. However, Tennessee Williams utilizes a different tactic in The Glass Menagerie, substituting reality for a symbolic representation. In Tom’s opening speech he states that, “the play is memory…it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic” (Scene I, line 16-17). Tom uses metaphors to set up the scene and the characters that illustrate it, relating the time period of the Great Depression to a time when “America was matriculating in a school for the blind…their fingers pressed forcibly down on the fiery Braille alphabet of a dissolving economy” (Scene I, line 7-10). It seems as though Tom is not really a character at all, but an entity apart from the story, another symbol to help demonstrate the inner experience of the characters throughout the play.

            Major contributors to this separation from reality are the slides that are constantly appearing as the events of the play take place. The screens take on multiple functions. At times it seems that the screens further the action of the play, like in Scene I when “Ou sont let neiges” appears on the legend of the screen. At other times the screen exhibits events from the past as in Scene II after Laura admits to having skipped Business College to walk in the park and then a winter scene in the park appears on the screen. These short interruptions in the linearity of the play, draw the audience’s attention from the present action, instead inviting them to think more deeply on what is happening because these screens are meant to symbolize something about the inner workings of the characters. This is particularly true in one instance in Scene III when Tom breaks some of the glass from Laura’s collection and the screen legend reads: “The Glass Menagerie.” Laura’s character is shy and introverted; all she has completely to herself is her glass collection, everything else in her life is predetermined. “Menagerie” means a collection of wild things being held captive for show, which is essentially Laura’s part in her family. Tom and Amanda think of her as broken, something that needs watching over, and so they try to write her life for her, forcing her to go to Business College even though it makes her nauseous. The two even arrange for a “gentleman caller” to come because they don’t think Laura can find a man on her own. Amanda fears that her daughter won’t be successful in her life--successful meaning she finds a husband--and so she keeps her cooped up, showing her off to available males so that Amanda doesn’t end up destitute. These minute breaks in the linear plot provide for a deeper, more meaningful analysis of the characters by drawing parallelism between the characters and the objects and ideas on the screen that they represent. In this way, Williams strays from the traditional reality of plays, instead favoring a more symbolic pathway to illuminate the inner workings of the characters.

            As a reader, the blatant symbolism that is brought about by Tom’s narrative where he sets up the scenes, and the screens that disrupt the linearity of the play, do distract from the goings-on of the action. However, although this is initially annoying and slightly confusing, upon further consideration it seems helpful in determining why the characters act a certain way. The disruptions also offer intrigue because it is up to the reader to figure out what Williams is actually trying to say, instead of simply allowing him to force his opinion on the viewer. By utilizing these tools, Williams is compelling the audience to delve deeper into the characters, otherwise the audience won’t truly understand the meaning of the play.