She also wants to relive her past through her daughter Laura; “
Picture looking at a drinking glass and imagine seeing Amanda’s memories dancing about within the hardness and confines of the glass leaving her dreams, desires and hopes suspended, unable to break free remaining trapped within.
This same idea is applied to Tom who sacrifices his dreams by working in a warehouse when what he really wants to do is write.
Think of the same drinking glass. We see his desires and dreams mockingly dancing about like trapped figures wanting to get out. We imagine that if the glass were to break, his dreams could be set free to be. However what would result is broken pieces of shattered glass. This also stresses how frantic Tom's situation is, which I’ll elaborate later on.
Laura on the other hand is strikingly similar to glass. Think of purchasing a set of glass. The packaging would say “ Fragile. Handle with care.” This is exactly what can be said of Laura.
She is crippled which makes her very delicate almost like a glass on an unsteady table. In scene four Laura rushes out, a second later she cries out having slipped. As if reaching out to stop the glass from falling off the unsteady table, Tom and Amanda anxiously rush towards her.
Apart from her physically fragility and impairment, she has a glass menagerie, which is directly associated to glass. ‘She is washing and polishing her collection of glass.’
Her compassionate engagement with the tiny animals reveals that she finds utter peace and solace when she is lost in her own world with them. The qualities of glass parallel Laura’s characteristics. Like the tiny glass animals, she is delicate, beautiful in her oddness and terribly fragile. Her glass collection kept on a little shelf demonstrates Laura’s need for protection from the outer world, which she has difficulty interacting with.
Think of it being the same drinking glass. Is it not ironic how Tom and Amanda are desperate to break free from it’s solid glass confines whilst Laura fights to seek refuge within the very same confines? Evidently glass is her only source of solace and contentment where she can simply be.
Hypothetically, we can also look at Laura’s situation as being the big glass bowl. Her mother and brother being the volatile liquid content in the glass bowl.
‘They are quarreling… Laura with clenched hands and panicky expression.’
It can be compared with the scientific theory of glass being sensitive to temperature changes. Put hot liquid in a glass, it will immediately heat up and vice versa. Therefore the immediate effects of Amanda and Tom’s tensions or outbursts directly affect Laura.
The glass bowl however tries to perhaps desperately settle or cool the escalating tension and anger in scene one; “Yes but let her talk,” but fails in scene three when tom’s frustration reaches a climax and he hurls his coat across the room. It strikes the shelf of Laura’s glass collection; there is a tinkle of shattering glass. Similarly glass has a characteristic of breaking if exposed to extreme temperatures (freezing or boiling temperatures.) This reflects directly on Laura’s sensitive and delicate nature (like glass), as she cries out as if wounded.
Laura’s purity can also be related to glass. She is mentally engrossed by her glass collection, which remains powerfully existent as her source of solace. Her pure and inalterable attachment to her glass menagerie can be associated with for example say a wineglass’s pure and clear structure.
The themes and the characters’ situation in the play are also closely associated with the qualities of glass. It is striking how Tom's speeches are always from the fire escape. It symbolizes him wanting to escape though unable to. It is also symbolic how in scene four while going to buy butter, Laura stumbles on the fire escape. Perhaps her fall symbolizes her inability to fend for herself in the outside world. Like glass her fragility and vulnerability is once again emphasized.
Tom ask his sister, “You know 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?”
He is directly referring to his helpless situation. We can imagine the coffin being made out of glass and him trapped with his sister and mother inside it. The only way he can escape is by breaking through which would obviously cause great damage. Abandoning them would evidently leave their fate uncertain.
Although glass is hard, it can easily break. This hard and yet fragile quality of glass can be related to Amanda’s character. In scene one she seems so strong with her vivacity and oblivious attitude towards reality. However in scene three we she how deeply hurt she is by her sons insults. ‘Sobbingly, “My devotion has made me a witch and so I make myself hateful to my children.”’
The hard and strong nature of glass is accentuated when she says, “ I've had to put up a solitary battle all these years. But you’re my right hand bower! Don’t fall down, don’t fail!” we also see her vulnerbilty. It is obvious what would happen if glass were to fall.
Her situation and dependency is closely associated to glass’s fragile quality. As much as Tom wants to live his own life, his actions would jeopardize the well being and security of his mother and sister. Amanda is conscious of their financial dependence;
“ What right have you got to jeopardize your job? Jeopardize the security of us all? How do you think we’d manage...” She already experiences several failures in persuading people to subscribe for ‘The Homemaker Companion’ Like glass their financial situation is very fragile.
Amanda and Tom’s relationship can also be associated with glass’s transparent quality. Amanda knows what her son is up to: DH Lawrence novels, his typed out manuscripts. She even knows about the letter Tom got from the merchant marine. Similarly Tom knows of his mothers obsession with getting Laura a gentleman caller and of her demanding and egotistical nature. However both parties can’t get either to change. Here another quality of glass is introduced. The quality of reflection. Tom and Amanda are perhaps alike in their sense of being stubborn. It is like looking at a glass and seeing a faint image of your reflection staring back. This is the case with Tom and Amanda. However, even though they are quite similar and both see through each other, they stand individually apart; like glass its elements remain unchanged even if broken. This is the evident reason of conflict between them both suggesting everlasting peace is unattainable.
The confining, enclosed quality of glass suggests that Tom and Laura have difficulty expressing their inner self to their mother. This emphasizes the distance between Amanda and her children. Tom can’t openly write when his mother is there just as Laura’s glass polishing is interrupted by the appearance of Amanda. She could be described as a prison guard resulting to her children’s honest feelings, dreams and desires remaining confined and inexpressible to her.
In conclusion, I also think ‘The glass menagerie,’ is an effective title for the play. The play does reflect on Laura’s fragility and necessity to grasp the non-existent world of her animal collection from which she seeks complete refuge. For this to exist, she greatly depends on her mother and brother. The glass menagerie is very important for Laura and ironically her happiness or unhappiness affects the rest. That is to say, if Tom does walk out, it will destroy her fragile glass menagerie, her source of peace and solace. Destroying hers would probably destroy his mental state of peace and solace as well. Perhaps this is the idea the play revolves around.
