The play “The Glass Menagerie” presents the memories drawn from Tom Wingfeild, the narrator and protagonist of Tennessee Williams. The play is significant in literature application since it covers the fundamental aspects of life in the society. In the play, Tom and his sister Laura struggles with their mother to make things work. They are subjected to severe challenges in coping up with life mainly because the society is generally unfavorable to allow women flourish in their day to day endeavors. Based on the feminist criticism, this paper will analyze the play to find the various aspects of misogyny in literature as exposed by the characters (Brydon & Chant, 23). The main focus will be closely examining the effects on the woman’s life in a society where men dominate the entire environment. This entails gender struggles between men and women in economic, social, political and psychological aspects. Therefore, the key objective of this research paper is to critically answer the following fundamental questions: How do norms and negative attitudes on women in the society affect their lives? How does the fundamental patriarchal in the society, that is, a world created and ruled by men, viewed and judged by men simply because women are assumed to be less intelligent, expose the betrayal of the image women in the modern literature (Harvey et al., 34). The answers to these questions will fundamentally be based on the feminist perspective.
Short summary of the play
Tom introduces the play in an opening soliloquy where he memories his reconciliation of Amanda his mother and Laura, his sister. Mr. Wingfeild is the Amanda’s husband who abandoned her and the family very long ago (Williams, 5). In of the time, Amanda is voluble and yearns for the admiration and comforts in the memories of the southern belle days. Her much worry is about the physically impaired Laura and the future. Tom, a casual worker at a shoe warehouse does his best to support the family. During the night, tom always attends movies sessions at the theater on which he adopts much knowledge from and venture into writing with the aim to become a poet. Amanda greatly becomes more obsessed with finding Laura’s suitor as she describes as the ‘gentleman caller’. Laura is too shy and this contribute much to dropping out of school and the secretarial course she was forced to study as it was the most suitable profession for women during that time. Laura’s time is much spent with the collection of her glass animals. This is contrarily to her mother’s expectations in which she forces her to keep herself clean enough to attract a man as that was the only way she could succeed in life. Eventually, tom invites Jim his old high school friend to their house for dinner so that Jim and Laura can hook up.
During the dinner, Laura realizes that Jim is the exact person she had a crush on during the high school day but she could not approach him because of her extreme shyness (Williams, 20). Therefore, Laura opted to stay out of the dining room but Jim joined her in the living room. The two were left alone especially when the lights went off as a result of unpaid bills. The candle light had to serve for the remaining part of the pay and this darkness restored tom’s plans to escape the family. Jim and Laura had to spend together in a long scene during which Jim advices her to think much better of her inferiority complex. The two shared a dance during which Jim accidentally broke the glass unicorn. Jim later had to reveal to Laura that he is in a stable relationship. As a matter of fact, Jim is engaged and is due to marry soon. By learning this, Laura took her broken unicorn and gave it to Jim as a present. Amanda became so furious upon learning that Jim is engaged and she lashes out his son Tom. This is because Amanda thought that Tom might have known that Jim is in a relationship but only still wanted him to hook up with Laura. Afterwards, Tom left home with no intention of coming back. In his final farewell speech, Tom asks Laura to blow the candles out. Laura does so as the play comes to an end.
In the feminist approach, feminists are more interested in the act of undervaluing women in the literature as long as both men and women accept the norms and beliefs. In a critical look, feminist critics believe that a reflection of masculine bias and the inaccurately harmful portrayed image of a woman are presented by the western literature. Feminism revolves around gander inequality pertaining to the rights of women. It aims at explaining the nature of inequality with a much close interest of the same. Gender inequalities may be as a result of the society’s perceptions and beliefs about life. This may be enhanced by stereotypes, patriarchy, oppression and sexual objectification.
The Glass Menagerie demonstrates sensitive concerns of gander issues. This is shown initially from the character choice, the figurative language and symbols with their meanings among other common literary devices. Feminism plays a vital role in understanding the roles of female characters as impacted by their male counterparts (Enarson et al., 27). This relationship enables analysts understand better the woman’s position, imagery and key literary elements associated with their gander. As discussed from the summary above, Amanda is a woman who demonstrates the inability to adopt to the modern world. As a single mother, raising her family is only possible with the help of Tom, the only available male around. Amanda is unstable financially and may not be stable at any be given point due to the perception that it is very difficult to flourish with the absence of a man. This perception makes her believe that she must solemnly rely on her son for support since her husband abandoned her. This shows that, women are generally too reliant to men in their daily duties in the society. Male are the sole providers of the family unit and the work of a woman is to wait for their husbands or any man in concern to provide for the family. It also shows that women are naturally too weak to move on with life in absence of their husbands. They cannot adopt the modern family life where single women are able to adopt the realities of the world and work hard to provide for their families. Contrarily, women live in the world of illusion and fantasies that existed in the past but have no room to the modern living. This aspect also reflects the nagging nature of women to men. This is clearly shown when Amanda, frequently and consistently asks Tom to look for and bring a potential suitor for Laura. It seems as if women cannot do anything by themselves.
Amanda further believes that a man and only a man could address their challenge and painful reality. This is why she insists that Laura must be clean to attract a suitor so that their life may change for the better. Doing so is also impossible without the help of Tom. Amanda is well convinced that getting a man will guarantee Laura a bright future. She believes in the role of a man to be only that of supporting a woman. There is no future excellence for any woman without the help on a man (Maynard et al., 29). This is the view as reflected from a patriarch society where women believe that it is a man’s world. Men dominate every aspect of life in the society hence it becomes their responsibility to rescue women from all burdens of life. Upon the failure of this perception, women are likely going to withdraw to illusion and fantasy.
Laura is an importance character in portraying the relevance of feminism theory and approach. Laura is at the center of every action by the other characters. She is completely powerless and demonstrates pure compassion to everybody in the play. In fact, Laura is described as person with a sense of selflessness by Amanda and is better positioned to bring out the elements of feminism. There are a variety of symbols throughout the play that allude to Laura. For example, Laura is portrayed as being too fragile and delicate like the glass. This shows that women are as delicate as objects that could easily be broken. This is especially when their feelings and emotions are involved. Furthermore, Tom uses the words “blue roses” to refer to Laura. This is to reflect the attractiveness and unusualness of Laura. Rose flowers are commonly known for their attractive abilities. However, these types of flowers are also too delicate to cope with the difficulty nature of the environment. In a patriarch society, women are referred to as a very attractive and highly delicate things or objects by men.
Laura is also physically unfit to live and survive in her present world. The only valuable collection is the glass unicorn which is long extinct. During the dance, the unicorn is short lived. At the time Jim kisses Laura, the response in that the unicorn breaks down and remains with horns no more. Having been destroyed, Laura takes the broken unicorn to give to Jim as a present. The whole situation of this scene shows how women are always dependent on men especially when their only remaining hopes are shattered by men who are potential suitors to them. This scene also tells that men are very much capable of destroying women’s dreams once they break their hearts and emotional life. They cannot independently move on and do things by themselves (Sarikakis et al., 31).
Tom is the only important male character and the play’s male figure. He presents the male patriarchal society and the views of men towards women in the society. Tom is seen as very hard working and most of the time very difficult to understand. Throughout the play, Tom engages with different collections and sometimes directly with the audience. He is the only character with ultimate and complete freedom. This is because; Tom always escapes to the movies even during the night. Being the only available man in a man dominated family and society, Tom is much responsible figure to look for the welfare of the Wingfield household. Although he tries his best possible not to disappoint in this key responsibility, Tom gradually becomes impatient. Thus, he opts to escape so as he can relieve himself with the pressure of the family. Tom eventually managed to leave the family but that does not stop him regret due to the love for Laura, Amanda and specifically his job. This situation shows how women put more burdens on men. They are more willing to put pressure on men expecting them to take care of their all endeavors. The sudden departure of Tom to unknown destination troubles Amanda and Laura that much. As a matter of fact, this incident causes emotional turmoil due to the disbelief that Tom could leave. It is not only due to their love for him but also they are too depended on him and live could. It meant that live could suddenly come to an instant still.
The most important symbol used in the play is the glass menagerie. This also constitutes to Laura’s collections. Like the unicorn, the menagerie is too delicate and strange. It is also out of fashion as her personality and relevance in the modern society. This glass most of the time displayed arrays of multiple colors depending on the angle of view. People could see different colors based on their choice and location of where they are looking at it. This shows that, women in a patriarch society are portrayed in different views (Harvey et al., 24). It also tells that women could mean different situations and things to different people depending on how the people look at them. Though too delicate, the menagerie is so colorful. This literally serves as the escape route to fantasy for Laura. Through this condition, both Jim and Tom view Laura as an unusual person to the present world. They further believe that Laura could be anything they could want to see or live with during their lifetime. This situation is strengthened by the fact that Amanda accuses Tom of bullying and playing a joke to bring Jim for Laura even though Jim is engaged. In a patriarch society, this is how men view women at their environment.
Conclusion
As discussed above, Tennessee Williams wrote “the glass menagerie” play to reflect the society’s tendency of women being too concerned about snagging things. He shows how things happen in a society where men dominate all aspects of life. This is a patriarch society where the welfare of women is highly dependent on men (Gardiner, 17). Women not only depend on men in social, emotional and economic well being but also all other life aspects necessary for their survival. For the quest to achieving gender equality, feminist struggle is still a matter of concern. Although the play suggests that it is not always that women are actively exposed to oppression, they are mostly part of the actual oppression. In feminist perspective, it is evident that the unequal treatment that women are subjected to in the play does not originate only from superiority of men. It can further be explained by the social structures of the society at the present time.
Works Cited
Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. New York: New Directions, 1999. Print.
This source presents the glass menagerie play by Tennessee Williams. It presents a sequential of events from the beginning of the play to the end. Key quotations are discussed as Williams uses all literary devises to portray the image of a woman in the society.
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Gardiner, Judith K. Masculinity Studies & Feminist Theory: New Directions. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002. Print.
This book discuses the feminist theory and its application in literature. It aims at giving new directions about the general view about women in the modern society. The source offers an explanation to provide an understanding of feminism as a result of cultural norms and beliefs.
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This source is an analysis of the glass menagerie, by Tennessee Williams. The roles of the play’s characters are discussed deeply based on the feminist perspective. It suggests that inferiority among women is not as a result of the superiority of men but the social structure of society itself.
Maynard, Mary, and June Purvis. Researching Women's Lives from a Feminist Perspective. London: Taylor & Francis, 2002. Print.
This source presents the ideas of the findings of research about women’s lives from the feminist perspective. The society carries a unique role in the war against subjective women in trouble issues. This happens while the role of a man is even burdened further. Women think that they are inferior simply because they thing it is a man’s responsibility to take care of their welfare.
Sarikakis, Katharine, and Leslie R. Shade. Feminist Interventions in International Communication: Minding the Gap. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. Print.
The source gives a resolution on the critical issue of gender inequality. This is based on the feminist point of view and it advocate for the empowerment of a woman so as they can take responsibility of their lives by themselves.
