Book Review: The Glass Menagerie

"The Glass Menagerie" is portrayed best as a collection of symbols used to add meaning to the overall theme of the play. Different meanings are given to the fire escape, Jim, the glass menagerie, the unicorn, blue roses, rainbows, religion, lighting, and music. Paying close attention, one can see the relationship between each symbol and the authors own life.
Glimpsing into the life of a family during the pre-war depression era presents objects, characters, and figures as symbols and imagery, expressing escape techniques, as well as hopeful aspirations, for those who are constantly left with bitter disappointment. The play, "The Glass Menagerie," by Tennessee Williams, is a memory play filled with remarkable use of symbols to portray the destruction and failure of hopes and dreams.
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The fire escape, in the play, is the entrance to the Wingfield's apartment. It is symbolic and carries a different meaning for each character. To Tom, the fire escape represents a way out of his unfortunate reality and an escape from his fiery frustrations. He longs to step out into a better world. Frequently Tom steps out onto the fire escape to smoke, symbolizing the first step towards freedom. Smoking also calms his nerves. Tom is suffocating in the apartment. His desperation intensifies as he craves a separation from his mother.
For Laura, the fire escape leads the way into a safe haven. Laura longs to be inside of the apartment protected from the world. The fire escape offers one way in or out. Laura's refuge is found inside. An interesting scene shows Laura stumbling on her way out to run an errand for her mother. Her fall symbolizes her weakness and frailty as she attempts to leave her comfort zone.
The fire escape is also symbolic of Amanda's desire to find a partner for her daughter. As Jim enters into the apartment through the fire escape, Amanda's hopes elevate and she grows increasingly excited about her daughter's prospective husband. Of course when she finds out Jim is engaged, her dreams crumble and she feels disappointed. To Amanda, the fire escape is an escape from the fear of Laura's desolate future. She worries her daughter will die an old maid. Her dreams include the hope that some young man will come through the door and sweep Laura off her feet.
Another symbol used in the play is the character Jim. To Laura, Jim represents her fear of reality. Jim is a common man and somewhat awkward with a passion for technology. Upon entering the Wingfield's dysfunctional apartment, Jim represents one of the glass animals, stationary and static. Jim soon realizes he must get back into the world which is constantly changing. Staying in the stagnant apartment is too depressing for Jim, and he declares his engagement to another woman and leaves.
To Amanda, Jim is a reminder of her younger days when handsome men would come to call on her. Amanda spends most of her time living in the past. This keeps her distanced from her reality. Jim is Amanda's object of hope. Jim represents Amanda's youth.
The glass menagerie is a collection of glass animals which represents all the characters as a whole, and has symbolic meaning for each character individually. The fragile glass symbolizes Laura. She is delicate, frail, weak, and easily broken. "The glass menagerie itself embodies the fragility of Laura's world" (Bloom 11). The frailty of her private world leads her to hide away from reality. Laura is depicted as one who has a full imagination and unrealistic ideas. She suffers from a physical and emotional handicap. Her glass animals are unreal too.
The glass figurines, which are unmoving, symbolize Amanda's need to create for Laura a thrilling life as she had once experienced. "Amanda soon reveals herself as a symbol of a devouring woman" (Tischler 33). She lives to intervene on behalf of her children, regardless of their desire for her to stop.
Another symbolic object in the play is the glass unicorn. The glass unicorn sits on a shelf surrounded by glass horses. Laura states that the unicorn is content amongst the more normal animals. Just as Laura understands her differences, she claims neither her nor the unicorn complain. After Jim reveals to Laura his engagement, the horn of the unicorn accidentally breaks off. This symbolizes that Laura too is becoming more normal, less shy. The unicorn loses its uniqueness and so does Laura.
Once noticed as the black sheep amongst all the other high school students, Laura realizes she really isn't that much different from the rest. When Jim kisses Laura and then tells her about his engagement, it breaks her heart and leaves her feeling more like everyone else. Broken as the unicorn's horn, she gives the unicorn to Jim which symbolizes her leaving him with part of her broken heart.
The blue roses in the play are also symbolic. The author's sister, whom the character of Laura is based, is named Rose. In High School Jim's nickname for Laura was blue roses "because it sounded like the word pleurisy, the illness that kept Laura from school for a spell" (Leiter 232). As roses are not ordinarily blue, Jim alludes to Laura that she is no ordinary girl. Laura acknowledges that the color blue is wrong for a flower, however, she accepts the name for herself as one who is unique. Roses are beautiful but not blue, just as Laura is a real woman, yet far too frail to be considered as one.
Rainbows have symbolic meaning in the play. Rainbows are known as objects of hope, yet somehow each depiction of a rainbow represents a less than hopeful situation. High expectations end up in disastrous disappointment for the characters. After spending time at a magic show Tom comes home with a rainbow colored scarf that turns goldfish into canaries. These birds fly away, just as Tom wishes he could. Even though Tom eventually leaves the house, he is haunted by memories of his mother and worry for his sister.
Another depiction of rainbows is seen in the chandeliers at the dance hall. These rainbow prisms foreshadow the dance that Laura and Jim share in her room. Although the dance is filled with hope, Laura's dreams are quickly shattered. Light shining down on the glass menagerie creates a rainbow of colors representing the beauty hidden inside Laura as she hides from the world.
In the play, Amanda practices Christian rituals, yet both of her children detest her hypocrisy. Their mother pretends to be a believer, but treats them with disrespect and selfishness. Tom and Laura are not Christians. The only time Tom uses Christian expressions is in blasphemy. Before eating, Amanda encourages the saying of grace, but the children each interrupt the prayer, Tom in scene one and Laura in scene six.
The music heard in the background, as Laura confesses dropping out of school, is "Ave Maria." This song symbolizes her pitiful feelings. Jim symbolizes the savior for Laura and Amanda. Waiting for Jim's arrival, both women dress ceremonial-like, and the scene is titled "Annunciation." The dress Amanda takes from the trunk is termed "resurrected." The women prepare fish for dinner. In the beginning of scene four, a deep voice church bell is heard ringing. After Jim kisses Laura, the stage direction informs the audience that "The holy candles in the altar of Laura's face have been snuffed out" (Cooper 627).
Lighting techniques in the play are used to create imagery. During each scene the lights are used to portray certain moods and tones. The lights symbolize hope as does the rainbow. But each hope is quickly shattered. During one of the scenes when Amanda and Tom quarrel, some of Laura's glass collection gets broken. The audience sees one solitary ray of light shining down upon Laura's face, showing her disappointment and sorrow. The light symbolizes Laura's grief.
Amanda tells Tom to make a wish. The audience sees a small light from the moon symbolizing Tom's hope for the wish to come true. A few times in the play there is a blackout. The darkness is used to symbolize the transitions from hope to pain. Flickering candle lights portray wavering between hope and disappointment. The main lights flickering portray lightning.
"Tennessee Williams's keen appreciation of the power of music to create atmosphere and define character is evident throughout his canon" (McCraw 763). Music is used to emphasize themes and enhance drama. Sometimes the music is heard only by the audience and not the characters. In a few scenes, music is played as part of the action and provides explanation on what is taking place in the play. The song, The Glass Menagerie, written for the play, is heard when Laura comes to the front of the stage with her glass menagerie and when Laura speaks of her mother's fear that she will die an old maid. Laura drowns out her mother's disapproval by playing old phonograph records left by her father when he abandons the family. While Tom dreams of escaping his dreary life, sad music is heard from the dance hall.