In regards to the question of rather or not Tom Wingfield is selfish for leaving in “The Glass Menagerie” and if it was wrong of him to leave his responsibilities. In my opinion the answer to both questions is no. First off I think that Amanda is the selfish one for trying to make him stay despite the fact that he is miserable. I think that Amanda has cast Tom and Laura in the roles of her and her estranged husband. She has made Tom into the husband/ father who is financially responsible for her and Laura and she is trying to use Laura to correct her mistakes while inadvertently contributing to the worsening of Laura’s introversion. As a result of this Tom feels stuck and spends all his time writing poetry and trying to escape a life and home that he feels is smothering him. She tells Tom that she wants him to stay and take care of her and Laura financially until Laura is married off "as soon as Laura has got somebody to take care of her, married, a home of her own, independent-then you'll be free to go wherever you please" (scene 4) . The problem is, Laura is extremely shy because of her crippled leg and Amanda’s constant bragging about how pretty and popular she used to be. “One Sunday afternoon in Blue Mountain - your mother received - seventeen!-gentlemen callers!" (Scene 1). Due to her shyness Laura does not receive any “gentlemen callers” which means that she is not going to be married off any time soon. This is the main reason that I do not think that Tom is selfish for leaving, because first off, why is it his responsibility to be financially responsible for his mother and sister. More importantly, how long is he supposed to wait to live his life and follow his dreams. I do not think that it is fair that it is fair that the only person who is being asked to give anything up is the person who earns it.
One can see that Tom is unhappy with that state of his life. He spent his days working a factory job he hated, until he was fired for writing a poem on a shoe box. Then he would spend his nights at the movies or drinking. When he was home he would spend most of his time smoking on the fire escape daydreaming about leaving. I think he does this because he has a poet’s nature and wants to live a life free from the responsibility of his mother and sister. I also think that a lot of the reason he is so unhappy has to do with Amanda’s overbearing nature and her need to constantly berate him. She is constantly attacking everything he does from the way he dresses, to what and how he eats and at one point she even confiscates his books. "Look! I've got no thing, no single thingin my life that I can call my OWN! Everything isYesterday you confiscated my books!" (scene 3). Amanda doing this causes him to feel like he has no control over his life, but yet he is the one who is providing her and Laura with one. I think that he feels stuck and angry especially with the fact that while he is the breadwinner she is always saying that he is selfish whenever he wants to go to a movie or he says he wants to leave. "For sixty-five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever!" (Scene 3)
I think it is unfair of Amanda to expect Tom to give up his dreams and to forego his desire to leave in order to wait for something that will probably never happen, ie. Laura getting married. I also think that if Tom doesn’t leave and follow his dreams that he is going to end up in the same position as Laura and Amanda unhappy and unable to deal with reality. In fact, I think that Tom was in the right to take the money for the electric bill in order to leave. First, he was the one who had worked to earn the money for the bill and if he wanted to change the purpose it was used for I think he had every right. Secondly, I think if he had paid the bill there would always be another bill or obligation stopping him from leaving.
References
Williams, T. (1999). The glass menagerie. New York: New Directions
