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Sympathy For The Family In Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie

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Tennessee Williams’, The Glass Menagerie, is a play that arouses a great sympathy and, in some cases, empathy for the protagonist of the who struggles to overcome two opposing forces; his responsibilities and his desires. On the surface his family seems quaint and simple, however, if the reader is to dig deeper, there are several underlying problems and limitations. For example, Laura, the protagonist’s sister, has crippling shyness. She attempts to attend business school until her shyness overcame her, and she passed out during a speed test. The mother, Amada, has high expectations that she imposes on both of her children. These expectations usually are not met by either of her children, in turn, this causes limitations for the family. Having …show more content…

The Glass Menagerie demonstrates many themes throughout the autobiographical type of play, notably all the character deal with limitation in a different way; Laura is limited through her shyness, Tom is limited by his wishes and responsibilities, and Amanda is limited by her age and her absent husband. Laura is portrayed as a young frail girl who has yet to blossom into a beautiful woman, nor find a husband and a steady job. This in her mother’s eyes is a weakness and thing to be fixed, while completely ignoring Laura’s selflessness. She is the glue of the family, always seeming to get Tom to apologize after a fight with their mother. Despite her already overwhelming problems, she attempts to help her family throughout the play. Going through life for Laura has been limiting for as long as she can …show more content…

She was raised up in a prominent household that at one point she “received – seventeen – gentleman callers” (Williams 680). As she reflects on the past she talks about all the boys that were available to her and how she should have chosen a different gentleman caller than Tom and Laura’s father. At her old age, she still fawns over the “beautiful, brilliant young Fitzhugh boy from Greene Country” (Williams 681) that could have been her key to a comfortable life. After her husband, she was limited to only certain things having to move to the city where jobs were more plentiful, and living was cheaper. Though she may be limited she also limits her children by her constant nagging of Tom and refusal to see Laura for who she really is. Refusing to accept what her family is compared to what she had envisioned before she got married were completely different. All these things make Amada a keystone of the story, she holds the family together even if the children seem to fight against her

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