Hey Baby, Want to See My…Glass Collection!
So one of the most important characters in this play, doesn’t even show up! The father, Tom and Laura’s dad, Amanda’s husband, plays and important role in the play. He has an impact on each characters life in different ways, especially Tom’s. In the Wingfield household, things aren’t always hunky dory. With Amanda’s confused and high-strung nature, Laura’s shy, fragile disposition, and Tom’s footsteps following in his father’s reckless path, this family is a disaster.
Let’s start with Laura. Laura, like her glass collection, is oh-so-fragile. It doesn’t help that she is crippled either. Like glass, she has translucent beauty as well as a delicate exterior. She, like her mother and brother, likes to retreat from reality. Maybe she got it from her Father, after all, he did retreat from his reality, but that was his choice, as this is hers. Her only interactions are with her dysfunctional family and her
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Amanda is stuck in her prime, when she was a southern belle who was being courted by the whole county. Perhaps she is stuck in the early 1900’s because the present is so depressing. This is her way of escaping reality, by dreaming about the glory days. But she also looks into the future. You can tell she wants the best for her children so she tries to plan out their lives for them. Which could have something to do with her missing husband. She talks about her husband as though him leaving her doesn’t hurt, when clearly, for a woman of Southern tradition, being left by her husband is pretty awful. She is set on her children maintaining the right gender roles. Perhaps she is stuck in the past because she wants the male attention she had back, or possibly just another husband. But she might be stuck in the future to make sure her daughter gets the best, not a running husband like she had. Or she wants Tom to be better than his father, even though he is headed down the same path his father