The Glass Menagerie

Laura’s glass menagerie represents the fragile nature of her family situation and changes in Laura’s personality. This is exemplified when Amanda and Tom argue about the time Tom spends out at night, and Tom throws his coat. His coat hits the shelf where Laura keeps her glass menagerie, and several of the figurines fall to the floor and shatter. The fragility of the glass menagerie demonstrates the fragility of the family situation in the household. The breaking of the menagerie suggests that conflict between family members generated by one family member imposing her will on another shatters the weak peace in the household. This is clear because the conflict between Tom and Amanda is based on Amanda’s desire to control Tom’s behavior out of the house. The glass menagerie also represents Laura’s personality. This is verified when Jim is over the house, and accidentally knocks over the unicorn, breaking off its horn. The horn that the unicorn has makes it unique, like Laura and her disability. When Jim dances with Laura though, she loses her disability and becomes normal, just as in dancing Jim breaks off the unicorn’s horn. This whole event suggests that differences are more easily overcome when approached with kindness and gentleness than when approached with rigid discipline and the iron fist of force.

Another symbol in The Glass Menagerie is the candle that Laura blows out after Jim and Tom leave the apartment for the last time. Jim admits to Laura that he is in fact engaged to someone else, and so cannot be her gentleman caller. He leaves, and when Amanda becomes frustrated with the failure of the evening and takes it out on Tom he storms out, never to return. It is here that Williams suggests that the absence of a normalizing force and the departure of a close family member push Laura over the edge, so that she loses all hope of regaining normality. This might relate to Williams’ life with his sister in that after a time she is admitted to an asylum, and might also be equated to his sister’s surgery. After her surgery, her uniqueness and personality were extinguished, just as Tom’s and Jim’s departure put out Laura’s candle and extinguish her personality.