The Glass Menagerie opened spectacularly in Chicago in 1944, marking the end of one part of Williams' life and the beginning of another as different in its external ircumstances as could be imag ined. His following drama,
A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) won several prizes including the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics' Award. The works made him famous as a Post War American dramatist, and he remains famous to this day.
In The Glass Menagerie, Williams models Laura's haracter on his own elder sister Rose, and Tom's upon himself. The play centers on Laura, who plays an important part in the drama. In this paper, I focus on Laura and her relationships with the other characters.
As a result of her limp, even though it is not noticeable to others, upon leaving high school Laura begins to withdraw from reality, playing with a unicorn and other animals made of glass. It could be said that she suffers from an inferiority complex. Her limp troubles her greatly, and she comes to identify with the glass unicorn.
Tom and his mother, Amanda, argue frequently due to the genera tion gap and gender differences between them. However, despite their very different ways of thinking, they are agreed in wishing for Laura's happiness. They invite Jim, who works with Tom, for dinner to meet Laura and make friends with her so that she can increase in confidence as a woman.
Laura loved Jim since high school, and at the dinner finds her passion for him again. She is kissed by him, and hopes he will become her boyfriend, but, in the end, he turns her down for his fiance. At the same time, the horn of the unicorn happens to break, turning it into a horse. This symbolizes Laura's hange. She experiences ‘object loss’ not only with Jim but also the unicorn whose horn was broken. She realizes that she has to live not in the world of the glass menagerie but reality; building human relationships.
Experiencing ‘object loss’ and through the process of ‘mourning work’, Laura establishes her identity, and comes to realize herself. Therefore I conclude that the theme of The Glass Menagerie is about Laura's self-realization.
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