Play Guide [1.2MB PDF] - Arizona Theatre Company

SYMBOLISM
Tom describes the gentleman caller the symbol for “the long-delayed
but always expected something that we live for.”
The Glass Menagerie
Glass Menagerie: Since The Glass Menagerie is the title of the play, the assumption is clear
that the glass menagerie is symbolic. Like the glass animals with which she surrounds herself,
Laura is frail and easily breakable but also beautiful when looked at closely. Like the glass
fi gurines that are beautiful under light, Laura can radiate a light from within, though the light
fl ickers and is extinguished when her mother overbearingly insists that Laura behave in a way
that is unnatural to her. The glass menagerie also symbolizes Laura’s isolation from the human
race as she continually uses it to escape having to interact with other people.
Movies: In The Glass Menagerie, the movies symbolize escape and adventure from a
mostly dreary existence. To Tom, the movies are where he goes when he cannot handle his
life and responsibility anymore. Clearly Tom wants to fi nd another life away from his mother
and sister and he experiences this other life vicariously by watching
the characters on fi lm as they have the adventures that are being
denied to him.
Unicorn: Laura’s unicorn is her favorite fi gurine in her menagerie.
The unicorn’s horn and the differentiation from the other horses in
the menagerie make him special and unique – he stands out from
the group and cannot blend. Much like Laura with her physical
ailment, the unicorn is different from all of his peers. When Jim
accidentally breaks the unicorn, making it like all the other horses,
Laura is symbolically wounded (or healed) as well.
Yellow Dress: The yellow dress that Amanda wears when entertaining the gentleman caller
symbolizes her lost youth and her resistance to change. Rather than wear something age
appropriate, Amanda insists on calling up images of her youth by meeting and fl irting with
Jim while wearing the fi nery from her previous life. She is unable to let go of her past and the
future that she envisioned for herself. The symbolic proof of these desires is this dress that she
has kept for many years (though it is no longer appropriate for her), just as she has held onto
her dreams that are becoming increasingly unlikely to manifest in reality.
MONOLOGUES;THEIR HISTORY
AND FORM
Throughout The Glass Menagerie, monologues are used as a means of expression.
Tom in particular has many monologues that help the audience understand his
thoughts and feelings. What is a monologue and how did they come about?
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 25