The Glass Menagerie
Tennessee Williams
In this scene, Tom and Amanda make plans for Laura's future (read: marriage). However, Tom expresses concerns for Laura's chances by characterizing her through the use of an analogy between Laura and her menagerie.
After Tom announced that he secured a male caller, Amanda seems to be elated. Nevertheless, she pays little attention to Laura's chances and qualities in the present. Instead, she thinks back to the Blue Mountain days: her past triumphs and ultimate lapse in judgment. It seems that, in place of ensuring Laura's happiness, Amanda is attempting to erase her mistake of marrying her husband.
Tom reminds her of Laura's individualism in an unfavorable manner. First, Tom reminds Amanda that Laura might not be attractive to the male caller; she is in a brace that corrects a disfigurement of her legs. However, more importantly, Laura's personality might prevent her from involving herself in a relationship: "TOM. She lives in a world of her own-a world of-little glass ornaments, Mother..." (Williams, 1261). On one hand, Laura seems to be isolating herself with her menagerie in a way that almost makes her one of the pieces shut off on a shelf. More significantly, she is extremely fragile. The tiniest tremor could send her crashing down. Anyone who would want to marry her would have to spend every waking second polishing her and keeping her from falling apart.
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