THE GLASS MENAGERIE

The Glass Menagerie is a memory play, and its action is drawn from the memories of the narrator, Tom Wingfield. Tom is a character in the play, which is set in St. Louis in 1937. He is an aspiring poet who toils in a shoe warehouse to support his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura. Mr. Wingfield, Tom and Laura's father, ran off years ago and, except for one postcard, has not been heard from since. Amanda, …

…making use of special effects like music and slide projections. By writing a memory play Williams freed himself from the restraints of naturalistic theatre. The theme of memory is important, for Amanda, memory is a kind of escape. For Tom, the older Tom who narrates the events of the play to the audience, memory is the thing that cannot be escaped; he is still haunted by memories of the sister whom he abandoned years ago.