Glass Menagerie Terms

Epigraph

This is a quotation or phrase at the beginning of a literary work that sets the tone or suggests a theme.

Epigraph in The Glass Menagerie

The play uses a letter from E.E. Cummings to a love interest as its epigraph. The letter discusses the woman's fragility and the speaker's willingness to open himself up to love because of her.

Themes of the epigraph

It connects to the themes of fragility, escape, and the transformative power of love.

Last lines of the play (#62 and #63)

They show that Tom cannot escape from Laura, highlighting the themes of family obligation and the burden of memory.

Amanda's family responsibility

Amanda is trapped caring for Laura, which prevents her from living her own life—illustrating sacrifice and the constraints of family.

Amanda's involvement with Jim

She draws Jim into Laura's world, emphasizing Laura's need for connection.

Unicorn symbolism

This symbolizes Laura's heart and uniqueness.

Fire escape symbolism

It represents a literal escape from the 'fires' of reality and the characters' desire to flee their difficult lives.

Laura's portrayal

She is awkward, shy, and emotionally affected by Tom and Jim.

Mr. Wingfield

He is the father who abandoned his family and worked as a telephone man.

Memory play

When Tom calls this, it means the story is subjective and nostalgic, seen through Tom's recollections.

Jim's character

He was the lead in The Pirates of Penzance and is secretly engaged.

Franco

A historical figure who suppressed the revolution in Spain, connecting to the political backdrop of the play.

Amanda's obsession

She is obsessed with jonquils and finding a gentleman caller for Laura.

Broken glass unicorn symbolism

It symbolizes Laura's hope of becoming a regular girl.

Characters' escape from reality

Tom escapes through movies, Amanda escapes into her past, and Laura escapes into her collection of glass animals.

Illusion vs. reality theme

The play examines how characters use this to cope with their reality, symbolized through the magician, the menagerie, and the past.

Abandonment theme

Tom and Mr. Wingfield represent this theme.

Laura's education

Laura dropped out of Rubicam's Business College.

Tom's foreshadowing

This person alludes and foreshadows the start of World War II, symbolizing the uncertain future ahead.

Apartment symbolism

This is symbolically compared to a coffin, representing entrapment, confinement, and the stifling nature of the family's living situation.

Laura blowing out candles

It symbolizes the extinguishing of her fragile hopes, dreams, and illusions, and her retreat into darkness and isolation.

Amanda's story about gentleman callers

It reflects her nostalgia for her romanticized past and her longing to relive that era of admiration.

Paradise Dance Hall symbolism

It symbolizes freedom, escape, and the allure of life beyond the Wingfield apartment.

Overall apartment representation

It symbolizes Hell—the suffocating, oppressive environment of the Wingfield family.

Author of The Glass Menagerie

Tennessee Williams, known for his lyrical and autobiographical plays about memory, illusion, and marginalized individuals.

Amanda's accent to Jim

She speaks in a Southern accent to highlight her Southern belle persona and her attempt to charm him with old-fashioned manners.

Laura's dress symbolism

Laura's dress being 'the color of memory' symbolizes nostalgia, fragility, and Laura's delicate, dreamlike nature.

Tom's first monologue purpose

It sets the scene and tone, introduces the themes of memory and illusion, and establishes Tom as both character and narrator.

Play setting and production

The play is set in 1937 and was produced in 1944, reflecting the effects of the Great Depression and the approach of World War II.