by Anna Yaguexta

Created on: March 13, 2009   Last Updated: October 25, 2009

Tragedy and Delusions in The Glass Menagerie

Tennessee Williams, arguably one of the most innovative and significant dramatists of the 20th century, brought a new aesthetic to the American theatre. His cinematic techniques, symbolism, poetics, and tragic dealing with the human condition have made several of his plays American classics, which continue to appeal to audiences and readers nationwide. Creator of the "plastic theatre," Williams first used these techniques in The Glass Menagerie, his first commercial success, which opened in 1944. As a play that explores the tragedy of the human condition, The Glass Menagerie has remained universal through its themes of human suffering, family, entrapment, and failed dreams. It is a play that tells the story of Amanda, Laura, and Tom. Although it can be argued that there are several tragedies within the play, the main tragedy of The Glass Menagerie is that they, suffering from self-delusions, are prisoners inside their own selves without an escape.

Tom Wingfield, presented as a merchant sailor, is the narrator of the play. As the narrator, he relates not only his family's experiences, but also the tragic drama of a delusional American society, suffering from the Great Depression. Tom says that Americans were "matriculating in a school for the blind" (5) because they refused to acknowledge the occurrences of Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco on the European continent and the rising political unrest of American society. By presenting this view of American society, Tom shows that "[Americans] have failed their eyes, complacently opting for the security of self-deception" (Presley 65). This pursuit of self-deception is illustrated in the Wingfields because they, not only ignore world events, but also refuse to acknowledge their own reality by deceiving themselves into thinking that Jim, the gentleman caller, will be their savior. By doing so, all four characters, under their own delusions, precipitate the collapse of the Wingfield family and their further entrapment within their respective worlds.

Like Tom, Amanda wants meaning in her life. When she fails to find it, she retreats to her illusions of Blue Mountain where she had seventeen gentleman callers. According to Presley, "[Amanda] gains a sense of meaning when she conducts her life according to [her southern] values" (57). Laura understands this because she knows "how important illusions can be as one seeks to cope with the pressures of daily living" (Presley 41). Thus,

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