Derived from Tom's memory, all of the major characters in The Glass Menagerie as well as their various perculiarities are, to a great degree, realistic, through Tom's real experiences with them. In fact, the play is loosely autobiographical, with several of the play's major characters having roots in Williams' own life. For example, the character of Tom Wingfield is based on Tennessee Williams' himself (whose real name was actually Tom before he changed it). Tom aspires to be an actor but is trapped working in a St Louis shoe factory to support his mother and sister; as a result of his father abandoning them. Even the sense of guilt that consumes Tom after he abandons Laura has roots in Williams' own life as it reflects the guilt that Williams himself felt when leaving his sister in a mental institution. Clearly, the character of Tom Wingfield portrayed in his own memory as well as his situation, feelings and ambitions have a very real basis, not only in his own life but also in the life of Tennessee Williams. Several other characters in the play are also built upon Tom's real experiences with them.
Laura Wingfield also has a basis of reality, as well as a connection to Tennessee Williams' life. She appears to be modelled upon Williams' sister Rose. Laura's nickname 'Blue Roses' is evidence of this connection. Laura is 'crippled' and has a brace on one leg, a fact clearly based on reality and not manufactured by Tom's memory. This fact is also based on Rose, who was schizophrenic and had one of the first prefrontal lobotomies ever performed. The operation was unsuccessful and Rose did not fully recover, spending the rest of her life in a mental institution. The guilt felt by Tom when he abandoned Laura echoes that felt by Williams, as he was unable to help his sister. Many of Laura's characteristics are also reflective of Rose, such as her gentle demeanor, shyness and inability to connect with those outside her family. Without a doubt, the character of Laura, like most of the characters in the 'memory play', is very realistic rather than derived from Tom's memory, and strongly based on Williams' sister Rose. The other two characters in The Glass Menagerie, although only having a very loose connection to the life of Tennessee Williams, in contrast to Laura's strong connection, have a very realistic basis in Tom's life.
Tom's father was quite obviously not conceived of his memory but very much a part of reality. Tom almost bitterly describes how his father was a 'telephone man who fell in love with long distances' and 'skipped the light fantastic out of town', abandoning his family. The character is not only a part of Tom's own life but has a loose basis on Williams' life as his father, Cornelius Coffin Williams, was a traveling salesman for a shoe company, whose long professional absences were a source of resentment for Williams. Tom's father is clearly a very realistic character and of the little that is mentioned of him in the play, nothing of the character appears to be modified by Tom's memory. Even more realistic than Tom's father, however, is the character of Jim.
Amidst Tom's description of The Glass Menagerie as a 'memory play', Jim O'Connor, the gentleman caller, is described as the 'most realistic character in the play' and an 'emissary from a world of reality'. Jim is outgoing, enthusiastic and believes in self-improvement, characteristics that Tom would not be very familiar with and therefore would be difficult for his memory to modify. These characteristics would therefore have to be quite realistic. Each of the characters in the 'memory play' have a very realistic basis. Many of them having been inspired by Tennessee Williams' own life. In assessing the degree to which The Glass Menagerie is realistic, we must examine the degree of realism in the very situation portrayed in the play.
The most realistic aspect of The Glass Menagerie is, without a doubt, the story told by the play. Although it may be altered frequently by the power of Tom's memory, the basis of the story is truth. From the beginning of the play we are assured of its validity, as Tom 'enters dressed as a merchant sailor'. Tom is wearing the attire of the Merchant Seamen, which we see, as the play draws to a close, is the profession which he was planning to take after he abandoned Amanda and Laura. We are further assured of the realistic basis of the play, as Tom tells us that he 'gives us truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion'. Tom affirms that the play is indeed truth, although this truth may be presented in a manner which is altered by his memory. Quite obviously, there is a great degree of realism in the basis and content of The Glass Menagerie, especially in the characters, the social and historical background as well as the events themselves. We must also assess the degree to which the play is memory.
Although the basis and content of The Glass Menagerie is realistic, it is essentially a 'memory play'. As stated by the opening stage directions, 'memory takes a lot of poetic license' and is 'seated predominantly in the heart'. Therefore, 'it omits some details, others are exaggerated'. Firstly, because the events of The Glass Menagerie are filtered through Tom's perception, the reader feels as Tom would have felt and sees things as Tom would see them. Resultantly, certain attributes of other characters are exaggerated. This is most evident in the character of Amanda Wingfield. For example, from the beginning of the play, as the Wingfield family dines, Amanda's irritating nature is amplified, as she complains that he shouldn't 'push with his fingers', he does not chew enough and he 'smokes too much'. This is again demonstrated in the sixth scene as Amanda and Laura prepare for the gentleman caller's coming. The conversation between Amanda and Laura is one which Tom would not have even witnessed as he was not present, therefore the conversation would have been filled in by his own memory and Amanda's aggravating nature would be clearly magnified. This emphasis on memory in the interpretation of characters serves to highlight these characters' most important characteristics. However, the exaggeration of character's attributes is not the only result of the events being interpreted by Tom's memory.
As The Glass Menagerie is shaped by the memory of Tom Wingfield, he seems to exaggerates a number of symbolic events throughout. A strong example of this is in the fourth scene, when Laura slips at the fire escape as she leaves the apartment; an event which is symbolic of the fact that she cannot survive in the outside world. This emphasis on symbolism is again most evident when Tom is describing 'Malvolio the Magician' and exclaims 'it don't take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin, Laura, but who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail?' After this comment, the picture of his father's grinning face lights up 'as if in answer'; symbolic of his abandonment of the Wingfields 'without removing one nail'. Obviously in reality, the picture would not light up, and this symbol is a fabrication of Tom's memory. The play is built on memory rather than reality to a great degree in emphasizing important symbols, in order to convey important values to the audience. There are a number of other aspects of the play that are also greatly modified, or even created, by Tom's memory.
The most obvious peculiarity arising from the play's modification by Tom's memory is the fact that 'eating is indicated by gestures without food or utensils', an aspect of memory which is most certainly 'not realistic'. Throughout this 'memory play', the audience will observe several oddities such as 'Tom laying his imaginary fork down' and 'raising his imaginary cup in both hands to blow it'. This not only adds to the atmosphere of memory in the play, but also seems to draw attention away from what the characters are doing, so that the audience can focus on the dialogue and important events in the play. The absence of food and utensils, like several other peculiarities in The Glass Menagerie, adds a great deal to the memory aspects of the play.
Another major aspect of Tom's memory, is the screen on the set, displays various images and words, projected from behind, in order to highlight certain images and symbols. These images and words are simply creations of Tom's sub-conscious, putting emphasis on important ideas as well as some of his thoughts at the time. An important example of the use of the screen device is when Jim first meets Amanda and she begins to act quite flirtatious as she would have in her youth. The projector displays the image of Amanda as a girl, signifying the fact that in her excitement she is reverting to her youthful self in an inappropriate manner. The screen device definitely adds a great deal of impact to the play in conveying important ideas and is clearly derived from Tom's memory rather than from reality. One of the major effects of the events being interpreted by Tom's memory is the unusual use of lighting throughout. The most notable use of lighting is the fact that the play is 'dimly lit'. This appears to be due to the fact that dim lights prevent details from being seen and it is details, rather than significant objects and events, that fade from the memory first. A number of rainbows are incorporated into the play by his sub-conscious, symbolic of his false hopes for escape. The lighting in the play is 'not realistic' and is used by Tom's memory to increase the atmosphere of memory, put emphasis on certain areas and characters, and as a symbol.
One of the most important peculiarities arising from the play being drawn from memory, is that time loses its usual sequence and structure. The first four scenes of The Glass Menagerie occur over the space of a few days in the winter season, while the following three take place on two successive evenings during the following spring. The audience, however, does not receive a sense of the time that passes. In memory, time has little meaning as our minds race between the recent and distant past. For example, Tom exists in the 'present' in the play while the events taking place occurred in the past. The focus of the play continuously alternates between the two. Our sense of time is clouded even further as Amanda constantly reminisces of the past. Clearly, time loses meaning in this 'memory play'. This implication of memory seems to draw away attention from the time and sequence of the events unfolding in the play, thereby increasing the focus on the events themselves.
Ultimately, in order to evaluate the degree to which The Glass Menagerie is memory and the degree to which it is reality, we must determine how the two interact in the distinct aim of finding 'a more penetrating and vivid expression of things as they are'. It is impossible to dispute that the very core of the play is realism, in its characters, in the social and historical background and in the situation portrayed, while the presentation of the play is 'sentimental' and 'not realistic' through dim lighting, exaggerated symbolism, and other memory aspects. The play is quite obviously constructed, to a great degree, of both memory and reality. However, the various unrealistic features of memory in no way compromise the truth of the play, but simply work towards intensifying the focus on the important aspects of reality. Essentially, the main effect of memory in the play is to enhance the sense of reality surrounding its content. After all, The Glass Menagerie, as Tom says, is committed to giving its audience 'truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion'
