The Glass Menagerie Book

Over the course of the last month I have read the classic plays of Tennessee Williams. Williams' first successful play, The Glass Menagerie initially opened in Chicago in the spring of 1944 and then moved to New York three months later. What he dubs a memory play, The Glass Menagerie focuses on a family much like Williams' own family, and hones in on the human emotions that allow a family to function. Containing seven scenes all in one location and four characters, The Glass Menagerie is powerful piece that is still widely read and studied today.

It is St Louis in between the two world wars. Amanda Wingfield has been unable to cope with her husband's disappearance of the last sixteen years and has raised her two grown children Tom and Laura essentially on her own. The husband's portrait graces the mantel and despite his abandoning of the family he is held in high regard. All three Wingfields come with baggage stemming from the father's flight, and an outsider would view the family as dysfunctional. Williams presents the family in this light, even noting in the introduction that Laura resembles his sister Rose and Tom could possibly be himself. I believe this is what made the play as effective as it was because Williams wrote what he knew and was able to create deep characters.

Amanda in her own way attempts to do what she thinks is best for Tom and Laura, but as they are now grown, she has little authority over them. Tom from a young age took over the role of man of the house and turns over all of his earnings to Amanda. Meanwhile, Amanda desired for Laura to learn to be a typist and for Tom to go into business, but neither lasted long at night school. She thinks highly of both of them while glossing over their faults, leading Tom to want to follow in his father's footsteps while Laura lives in her own world of glass figurines.

Because this play takes place in one location and does not contain much action, it was easy to be read and create images of the characters in my mind. I enjoyed the imagery of Amanda as a middle aged southern woman who was once a belle as well as Tom who desired to see the world. Williams talks of the world at large by mentioning the Century of Progress in Chicago as well as the Guernica in Spain. A great world is taking place outside of the apartment and Tom wants to be a part of it in spite of his mother's intentions. Had the play contained more characters, interactions, and locations, it would not have lended itself to be read rather than viewed. It is in this regard that Williams timeless works remain accessible.

I have enjoyed my close study of Tennessee Williams plays. I visited with the Kowalskis of New Orleans, the Moffits of Memphis, and now the Wingfields of St Louis. I have found it refreshing to read plays because one gets to know characters in a manner much more intimately than over the course of a long book full of action. Williams' plays run the gamut of human emotions and often contain both exhilaration and despondency from the same characters in the same play. Reading these short yet powerful plays, it is easy to root personae on as their emotions run the entire spectrum. After reading these three plays in close proximity of each other, I see how Williams' characters have remained timeless even fifty years later. I encourage others to pick a playwright and read many of their works to see how emotions and themes repeat themselves across time and place. For this memory play, I rate The Glass Menagerie 4.5 bright stars.