Theatre Lit Wiki - TheGlassMenagerie

The Glass Menagerie

Introduction

The Glass Menagerie is a play written by esteemed playwright Tennessee Williams. It is a play perceived through memories by one of the main characters, Tom. We watch the detachment and the gradual decline of a family through flashbacks and in the historical context of The Great Depression. When her husband abandons her with two young children to raise on her own Tom's mother Amanda, a former young southern belle, focuses her attention solely on marrying off her younger daughter Laura. She constantly tries to live vicariously through her daughter and consistently ignores Tom's needs and wants. Laura is characterized by her maladies and obsession with her collection of glass animals that are just as fragile as she is. Tom works hard for his family but, wishes to run away and escape the life that keeps him from his own dreams.

Tennessee Williams

Born under the name of Thomas Lainer Williams in Columbus Mississippi in 1911.
Moved to St.Louis Missouri where he lost his self in an urban environment. This is where he began to write because he stated "I found life unsatisfactory".
Attended college and worked for his father's shoe company, like Tom, to pass the time.
Eventually he moved to New Orleans and fell in love with the landscape. This eventually set the stage for his play A Streetcar Named Desire.
1944 and The Glass Menagerie opened in the theatres in Chicago and eventually found its way to Broadway.
The play won the New York Drama Critic's Circle Award and when it was made into a film it won the New York Film Critic's Circle Award

Tennessee Williams at his typewriter

Characters

Tom Wingfield : The narrator of the play. Amanda's son and Laura's brother. He support his family b working tirelessly in a shoe warehouse. He is extremely bored with his everyday life and feels trapped by his mother and his sister. he escapes at night to different places to run away from his reality and family. He often dreams of running off to join the merchant marines.
Amanda Wingfield : Abandoned by her husband at a young age she was left to raise Tom and Laura alone. She often dreams of her past as a southern belle. She becomes obsessed with marrying off and reliving her younger years through Laura.
Jessica Lange portraying Amanda Wingfield in 2007 at a production in London
Laura Wingfield : Amanda's daughter and Tom's sister. She is a recluse with a limp that she is very insecure about. She collects small glass animals that she has become obsessed with.
Jim : A co-worker of Tom's and Laura's former high school crush. Though to be a suitor for Laura by her mother but, is actually engaged to another woman. he breaks of one Laura's glass animals.
Mr Wingfield : Husband to Amanda and father to Tom and Laura. He abandoned the family before the start of the play but, his picture still remains in the house.

Plot

Scene 1: Tom addresses the audience and explains how the story will unfold, through memory. He states that his memories will take place in the historical context of The Great Depression and that his father, Mr. Wingfield, has abandoned his family but there is still a picture of him in the house. He then joins his mother Amanda and his sister Laura for dinner. The conversation turns to Amanda speaking of her past as a southern belle.
Scene 2: Laura is polishing her collection of glass animals when her mother barges in confronting her on her absence from her college classes. She then informs her daughter based on her academic failure she must now get married to ensure her financial and overall security. Amanda questions Laura about any potential suitors and Laura quickly brings up Jim an old crush of hers from high school. After stating that Jim is probably married off by now, Laura goes on to continue that she will never find love because of her maladies.
Scene 3:. Tom speaks to the audience about Amanda's obsession with finding Laura a husband . Tom and Amanda begin to fight when Amanda encroaches upon Tom's privacy. Laura watches on quietly not daring to interrupt They continue to fight and Amanda accuses Tom of lying when he says he goes to the movies at night when he is really going to the bar. In a rage Tom throws his jacket and knocks over one of Laura's glass animals. She seems to break as the animal did and Tom leaves in frustration
Scene 4: Tom comes home drunk but swears to Laura that he went to the movies and a magic show. He tells Laura about the magician and compares him to their father. Laura urges Tom to apologize to Amanda and at dinner he does. He tell his mother his frustrations in life and his dreams of exploring the world. Amanda informs Tom that she knows of his intention of joining the merchant marines and begs him not to leave until Laura finds a husband. Tom agrees and offers to bring a co worker over for dinner to meet Laura.
Scene 5: Tom opens the scene by talking to the audience and reminiscing about the springtime and the dance halls. He then joins his mother on the fire escape where they both begin to wish upon the moon. Amanda tells Tom of her wish of success and fortune for her children. Tom withholds his wish because he knows it will upset his mother. Tom informs Amanda that he is bringing over a friend from work for dinner but, not to get too excited because he isn't aware that he is being set up with Laura. He reminds Amanda that Laura is often seen as odd by people. He decides to go to the movies and Amanda requests that Laura join her so they could wish upon the moon for good fortune.
Scene 6: Tom discusses Jim's popularity in high school with the audience and how he ended up working at the shoe factory with Tom. Amanda is fitting an uncomfortable Laura into a big poofy dress while she in turn is wearing one of her old southern belle dresses. Amanda forces Laura to open the door for Jim and Tom. Realizing that Jim is the same boy she loved from high school, Laura retreats to the living room where her glass animals and record players are. Tom informs Jim that he is taking the money meant for next months bills and going to the merchant marines. He compares himself to his father proudly for leaving the family. Amanda, Jim and Tom then eat dinner without Laura because she is too ill from the revelation.
Scene 7: After dinner Jim joins Laura in the living room and they begin to discuss their high school days. Jim addresses Laura's maladies and tells her that she shouldn't let them keep her shut in for the rest of her life and the rest of the world. Jim and Laura begin to dance to the music they hear outside from the dance hall. Jim accidentely bumps into one of Laura's glass animals and breaks off the horn of one of the unicorns. Laura seems unphased by it and continues to dance. When Jim and Laura have an intimate moment Jim suddenly realizes that he is engaged and shouldn't be participating in this inappropriate behavior and leaves. Laura gives Jim the broken unicorn horn as token of appreciation for his attention. Amanda blames Tom for the turn of events . Tom then informs the audience that he left his family after that day and never returned again. He also states that he doesn't know what came of his sister but he thinks of her every day

Famous Productions

The first theater production of The Glass Menagerie was in 1945 at the playhouse theater in London. It lasted in the theater until June of the next year
The most recent theater production was in February of 2013 in Massachusetts at the American Repertory Theater. Zachary Quinto, who is most famous for his characters in American Horror Story, portrayed Tom.
Jessica Lange, who is also famous for her characters in American Horror Story, portrayed Amanda in a 2007 production in London.
A 1950'2 production of the play had Jane Wyman as Laura and Kirk Douglas as Jim.

Film Adaptations

The first film version of The Glass Menagerie was released in 1950 by Warner Brothers. It was filmed in black and white and starred Jane Wyman as Laura Wingfield, Kirk Douglas as Jim, Gertrude Lawrence as Amanda Wingfield, and Arthur Kennedy as Tom Wingfield. It was directed by Irving Rapper.
Movie poster of the 1950 film adaptation
Another filmed version of the play was filmed in 1987 and directed by Paul Newman. It followed other television versions of the film and was one of the most successful films premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. It starred Joanne Woodward as Amanda Wingfield, John Malkovich as Tom Wingfield, Karen Allen as Laura Wingfield, and James Naughten as Jim.
Bosley Crowther from the New York Times wrote a scathing review about the 1950's film adapatationon September 30 1950. He stated that the film brought out comedy in scenes that were not meant ot be comedic or humerous. He also said " They do nicely when the script and direction permit, and that is to say when Miss Lawrence is not overwhelming the screen. It is regrettable that director Irving Rapper was compelled , it appears, to kick around the substance of a frail, illusory drama as though it were plastic and not Venetian glass."
The December 31, 1949 review in Variety magazine claimed the movie "unreels engrossingly" and "...what is most remarkable is the subtle restraint employed to register Laura's awakening to the fact that life isn't a bust just because you got a bum gam.

Symbolism & Themes

The Glass Menagerie is a morality play in a modern world. Each character symbolizes a view of time. Amanda lives in a world that is emotionally driven and stuck in the past. She is obsessed with the fact that she was a southern belle and wants to live her past life through her daughter. Laura is stagnate and stuck in the present moment. She lives in a world that only involves her glass animals and will forever remain in her current state and never move forward if she continues to live in her imaginary world. Tom is constantly looking forward to the future. His goals and dreams all take place in the future and holding on to those goals and dreams are what help him to navigate his sisters present and his mothers past.
The characters go back and forth between past and present. Tom is narrarating the story in a sense from the present but, when he ventures back into his memories, the source of the play itself, it seems as if he is part of the future.
Critics have states that the characters represented in the play were base off of William's own family. Tom, the main character and voice of reason in the play, was said to be based off of William's himself. Mr.Wingfield, who abandoned the family at the beginning of the play, is supposed to be based off William's father.
The Glass Menagerie is also a symbol in the play. It symbolizes Laura's world that she feels safe in and can escape from the rest of the world. It's what holds her in place. The Glass Menagerie is also what holds everyone else down in the family and keeps them all in place. It symbolizes Laura's psyche and the fact that it is also fragile like glass; at any moment she can break.
The glass animals could also be seen as symbolizing the family's fragile bond. When Tom leaves to run away to the merchant marines that is what causes the menagerie to shatter for good.

Critical Analysis

When the play opened in The Playhouse Theatre on Broadway in 1945 it received rave review and became a huge artistic and commercial success.
The play ran for 561 performances and the New York Drama's Circle named it the best American play of the year.
In a New York Times article written in April 1945 wrote about William's winning the award for "His play The Glass Menagerie and its sensitive understanding of four troubled human beings". They are also quoted as writing " ...the play is at the Playhouse where since its opening, it has been in the category of a smash hit."
Recent production in 2013 featuring Zachary Quinto as Tom

References

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/theater/reviews/the-glass-menagerie-at-loeb-drama-center-cambridge-mass-html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://staff.bcc.edu/faculty_websites/jalexand/Williams--The_Glass_Menagerie.htm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093093/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/tennesse-williams/about-tennessee-williams/737/
Bluefarb, S. 1963. The glass menagerie: Three visions of time. College English, 24, 513-518. Retrieved from: http:// www.jstor.org/stable/372877
http://www.berkeleyrep.org/html/SchoolOFTheatre/matguide_GM.html
http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/31/specials/williams-dramacrit.html
http://variety.com/1949/film/reviews/the-glass-menagerie-4-1200416555/

10. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E07EFD9123DE033A0575AC2A96F9C946192D6CF