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The Glass Menagerie
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The Glass Menagerie

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The Glass Menagerie, one-act drama by Tennessee Williams, produced in 1944 and published in 1945. The Glass Menagerie launched Williams’s career and is considered by some critics to be his finest drama.

Amanda Wingfield lives in a St. Louis tenement, clinging to the myth of her early years as a Southern belle, repeating romantic stories of those years to her two children. Her daughter, Laura, who wears a leg brace, is painfully shy and often seeks solace in her collection of small glass animals. Amanda’s son, Tom, through whose memory the action is seen, is desperate to escape his stifling home life and his warehouse job. Amanda encourages him to bring “gentleman callers” home to his sister. When Tom brings Jim O’Connor for dinner, Amanda believes that her prayers have been answered. Laura blossoms during Jim’s visit, flattered by his attention. After kissing her, however, Jim confesses that he is engaged to be married. Laura retreats to her shell, and Amanda blames Tom, who leaves home for good after a final fight with his mother.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.