The Glass Menagerie Research Papers

The Glass Menagerie The Glass Menagerie is a play by Tennessee Williams. Being a premiere in the year 1944, it is a play that still touches the lives countless individuals, and is studied and performed even more so. One of the main characters in the play, Amanda Wingfield, the mother, is one of many people who must endure the pressures of society. With difficulty, Amanda always somehow manages to find a way to deal with or oppose these societal standards. The portrait of her estranged husband hangs on the wall of their apartment, and seems to have a great deal of bearing on her decisions. The choices she makes affect the other characters in the play by either opposing or favoring what the other character desires, or what society demands.

Louis, requests of society include all women being married by the age of 30, and all men, and most women, having a job. In the play, an explanation is offered that Amanda no longer has any husband, that her son is the only financial supporter of the family with a low-paying job, and that her daughter has no college education to be an employee, and has no gentlemen callers. This presents a real struggle for the family, Amanda especially, as she is the head of the household. The quarrels she has with her son, Tom, do not help matters when she is trying to keep order in a broken home. The two argue over everything from the books he reads to his habit of going to the movies almost every night (Williams 20-25), as he struggles to justify himself as the head of the house. Amanda has a difficult time adjusting to the circumstances that her super ego asks for, however, she

Wingfield, Amanda’s husband, hangs on the wall. Now an absent figure and distant memory, his abandonment years ago is the cause of the family’s current life. Amanda has great aspirations for her children. This is partially because of her husband’s inexcusable behavior. She does not want Tom or Laura to wind up with the same life she has. Amanda’s ID,or inner desire, reacts to the painful reminder of the past, that is continually present in the form of Mr. Wingfield’s portrait, by demanding whatever means are necessary to prevent her family from experiencing a broken heart. Though she bears much animosity to her ex-husband, he is the one who seems to have the most influence over her decisions. As Amanda is trying to comfort her daughter at the end of the play, she looks toward her husband’s portrait, almost as if for guidance (Williams 96). Amanda consistently looks to his picture as a reminder of what not to do, and of what could make the lives of her children better. Everything she does is for the love of her