Intermittently, plays that defy the conventional style of
drama are those that are able to convey the message and reveal the intentions
of the author the best. “When a play employs unconventional techniques, it is
not, or certainly shouldn’t be, trying to escape its responsibility of dealing
with reality, or interpreting experience, but is actually or should be
attempting to find a closer approach, a more penetrating and vivid expression
of things as they are” (704). Dramas often present the story from an outside
point of view, an unbiased account of the story. However, “The Glass
Menagerie” is a memory play accounted by one of the characters in the story. Tennessee
Williams, by making his play based on Tom’s memory, was able to present the
absurdity of some southern expectations, such as the necessity for women to
marry a man in order to strive in life.
Although the play is Tom’s account of the whole situation,
it is the most reliable. Tom is the narrator of the play, as well as one of the
main characters. Up to scene six, we have encountered Amanda, the mother, and
Laura, his sister. Of these characters, it is evident that Tom is the wisest
and most sensible. He is essentially the only character that sees how senseless
this whole gentleman caller ordeal is. Amanda is obsessed with trying to obtain
a gentlemen caller for Laura, for she believes it’s the only way her daughter
will be able to enjoy a decent life. This intensifies after she finds out that
Laura dropped out of Rubicam’s Business College. Tom comments, “like some
archetype of the universal unconscious, the image of the gentleman caller
haunted our small apartment…” (scene iii, lines 4-6). Through this quote it is
clear that Tom understands the magnitude of how the notion of marriage for
women in the south is ludicrous. Laura, on the other hand is a very docile character.
Although she does not rave over gentleman callers, she essentially submits to
her mother’s will, making her a participant to this notion, as well. Therefore,
Tom’s view is the most accurate for the other characters are consumed by this
stereotypical southern notion.
By using clever Tom as the narrator and source of the story,
Williams’ is able to present his opinion on this matter of marital
conventionality in the south, which parallels Tom’s in that he believes it is
nonsensical. In the story, it can be seen that Tom is unsatisfied with his
lifestyle. He constantly goes out because he is tired of all the fuss about
gentlemen callers. “An evening at home rarely passed without some allusion to
this image, this specter, this hope…Even when he wasn’t mentioned, his presence
hung in Mother’s preoccupied look and in my sisters frightened, apologetic
manner –hung like a sentence passed upon the Wingfields!” (scene iii, lines
7-11). His desire for change is also shown when he tells the audience, “Across
the alley from us was the Paradise Dance-hall. Couple would come outside, to
the relative pits and telephone poles. This was the compensation for lives that
passed like mine, without any change or adventure” (scene iii, lines 22-32). Through
Tom’s character, Williams’ is indirectly conveying his viewpoint on the whole
situation. He could also be projecting himself through Tom for he was gay and
therefore probably did not prefer the traditional concept of marriage strictly adopted
by southerners.
Williams defies the traditional style of drama by making the
play a memory of one of the characters, thereby creating a piece of work that
abide to only one specific viewpoint of the story. However, this worked to his
favor because he was able to relay his motives better in this way. Tom is the
cleverest of the characters, and he is able to see the world more clearly than
the others. Williams’ technique of focusing on one character’s perception,
along with other unique techniques such as the screen makes this play one of
the most authentic plays we have read thus far.
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