The Father in "The Glass Managerie"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams presents the audience with a family that has been damaged by the departure of the father. The paper points out that each character is in his or her own way irreparably harmed by this event. The remaining parent, Amanda, perpetuates both her own and her children's pain by constantly reminding herself and her children of the missing family member, and creates for the entire family a dichotomy between the father figure as the nostalgic and hero-like character, and on the other hand as a faithless deserter whose example is not to be followed at any cost. The paper concludes that the father, even in his absence, continues to dictate the interactions within his family, and remains central to the events and choices in their lives.

From the Paper:

"Despite this rare recognition of true reality, Amanda's grip on the true state of affairs does not last long. Instead, she pours her whole heart and soul into the projected success of ensnaring a husband for Laura, but like Tom's attempt at escape, the projected success of this attempt is also more purely fantasy than Amanda is willing to recognize. Tom attempts to warn his mother that a man might not respond favorably to Laura's physical and emotional defects. She also never bothers to thoroughly investigate the man that Tom brings to meet Laura, and therefore fails to take into account the possibility that Jim might already be connected to another girl. In the end, both her wild hope and Laura's emerging personality are completely crushed by the one revealed truth: Jim is already taken. In addition, the final representation of their hope vanishes with Tom's escape. Laura and Amanda are left to their own devices at the end of the play. Only Laura's image remains to haunt Tom, regardless of how far he travels to escape them."

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