Another argument against the comment made is that, surely, if Amanda was trying to relive her youth, she would still be desperate to receive her own gentlemen callers, or be out trying to find them. My point is simply that she does not appear interested in having any of her own gentlemen callers. However she does, indeed, seem desperate for her daughter to receive them, and it is an arguable point as to whether she is simply trying to relive her youth through her daughter, as she certainly seems to be very flirtatious with Laura’s first gentleman caller, Jim, when he finally arrives.
I would also argue in favour of the comment that Amanda does try to make herself appear younger when she wears a dress from her youth in which she ‘won the cakewalk’ which suggests to me not that she is trying to relive her youth, but perhaps she forgets that she has grown out of it, as she prances around in this dress with ‘girlish ringlets’ in her hair. Within this scene, Amanda’s behaviour as well as her appearance does appear to be very immature for age. She is constantly jumping around, ‘baptizing herself’ with lemonade that she spills in her girlishness, and cooing over Jim constantly, almost to the point where he is embarrasses by her actions.
Returning to the idea that Amanda is trying to relive her youth through her daughter, I would suggest that, indeed, she is doing well in this when Jim comes around for she indeed demands more of his attention in the dining scene than Laura.
Amanda does not seem, however, ready to let Laura get on with her own life and wants her daughter to do exactly as she did when she was young; to marry and settle down. Amanda feels that unless her daughter does this she will always be living off the ‘grudging patronage’ of others.
I would therefore argue that Amanda is indeed trying to relive parts of her life through her daughter, even to the point of desperation for her to get married, even though her own marriage ended in her husband abandoning her and their children.
However, I would argue against the comment made for a number of reasons. As I suggested earlier on, I believe there are significant reasons as to why Amanda conducts herself in these seemingly immature fashions.
To begin with I would argue that, after her husband leaving her, with two small children, perhaps Amanda feels she has had no real life to herself, in the struggle of living, and supporting her family. She may therefore feel she wants the nice parts of her life back, so I would argue she is not trying to relive her youth, but to relive the happy times in her life.
Secondly, I would argue that it is clear, throughout the play, that Amanda does not understand her children. It is my opinion consequently that perhaps she does not know how she should communicate with Tom and Laura. She may have no idea what is going on in their lives and heads, so the only thing she knows, and feels she can talk about competently, is her past, which is the only thing she feels sure about. I would argue then that Amanda is not trying to relive her past, but simply striving to find a form of communication with her children, whom she does not understand, and who do not really appear to understand her, as they each have mixed feelings of annoyance and boredom with her stories.
However, there are significant points that suggest Amanda is trying to relive her youth, which I feel have not been ignore, such as her flirtatious behaviour with Jim, wearing her teenage dresses, and constantly talking about her past.
I would however argue, on the grounds of the points I have made, that Amanda is not trying to relive her youth. She is actually reliving her good times, in a time of hardship in her life, and trying to find a way of communicating with her children. Consequently I do not agree with the comment that ‘Amanda is trying to relive her youth’ as I feel the underlying reasons are far more important in understanding why she appears to be trying to relive her youth, rather than the simple fact that she behaves immaturely for her age, and that her unhappiness, loneliness and misunderstanding of her children are the main factors that led to her behaviour, rather than a simple desire to return to her youth.
