The Glass Menagerie

Laura Wingfield

The physically and emotionally crippled Laura is the only character in the

play who never does anything to hurt anyone else. Despite the weight of

her own problems, she displays a pure compassion--as with the tears she

sheds over Tom's unhappiness, described by Amanda in Scene Four--

that stands in stark contrast to the selfishness and grudging sacrifices that

characterize the Wingfield household. Laura also has the fewest lines in

the play, which contributes to her aura of selflessness. Yet she is the axis

around which the plot turns, and the most prominent symbols--blue

roses, the glass unicorn, the entire glass menagerie--all in some sense

represent her. Laura is as rare and peculiar as a blue rose or a unicorn,

and she is as delicate as a glass figurine.

Other characters seem to assume that, like a piece of transparent glass,

which is colorless until light shines upon it, Laura can take on whatever

color they wish. Thus, Amanda both uses the contrast between herself

and Laura to emphasize the glamour of her own youth and to fuel her

hope of re-creating that youth through Laura. Tom and Jim both see

Laura as an exotic creature, completely