Comparing Characters In The Glass Menagerie And The Little Foxes

One of the most enjoyable facets of analyzing literature is comparing characters of similar or contrasting novels from the same time period and discussing how they are similar or dissimilar. In some cases, a reader can analyze more than one character from each book, in order to see if one is more or less like another. In this instance the two novels are not really novels, they are plays, in which characters drive the story’s development. With the action propelled by spoken dialogue, plays require their characters to be condensed so that the listener can understand the plot without copious amounts of exposition. With the information about the characters from the plays “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams and “The Little Foxes” by Lillian

Schemes dominate Regina’s life, causing her to put on a mask of nicety. She pressures her daughter into marrying a man she does not love, she blackmails her brothers several times in order to achieve her goal, and she allows her husband to die in front of her when she could have easily prevented it. This appears to be at least somewhat similar to what Amanda does to her children right? Pressuring, blackmailing, and causing their lives to be miserable, for some personal gain. However, this is not how I see Amanda, even with her schemes. While she does attempt to “swing” things her own way, her motive seems to be pure. All she wants out of life is for her remaining family to take care of their aging mother, for her children to be well off and prosperous, and for her children to get married so that she can have grandchildren. These glorified wishes seem to lie in every parent, even Regina. Although she does not express it as much, she may want her daughter to be well off and to have wealth and connections. However, she wants wealth and social standing more than she wants her daughter's happiness and her wishes outweigh her love for her daughter. Greed and her selfishness make Regina an unsympathetic character, while Amanda, on the other hand, loves her children and does everything in her limited power to make life better for them, even if they do not understand

Most people would immediately say that it would be unlikely these two characters would be similar, but this is a situation that is improbable. For most of “The Little Foxes,” Horace Giddens does not take part of the main action. The most notable thing he did was die, which is unfortunate for him, however, speaks volumes to the audience. However, for the rest of his less notable performance, he forbids Regina from marrying his daughter to the man, who happens to be her cousin. Also, he changes his will at the end of his life in an attempt to force Regina to change her ways and to stop taking advantages of others. This plan ended disastrously by his sudden death and the fact that Regina blackmailed her brothers into doing exactly what Horace was trying to prevent. This is more like Amanda, who tries to plan so that the future will be brighter, but in the end, she only fails, despite her best