The Glass Menagerie opens with Tom Wingfield in a hotel room, trying to forge his past into art. Tom’s space is soon overtaken by the memories of the cramped apartment he once shared with his mother Amanda and beloved sister Laura. The drama recalls the family’s unrequited dreams and the night a visit from a man known as the Gentleman Caller changed their lives forever.
What Is the Story of The Glass Menagerie?
Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie is a semi-autobiographical “memory play” that recounts the sometimes hilarious, more often heartbreaking events that lead to the undoing of the Wingfield family. Abandoned by her charmer of a husband years ago, fading Southern belle Amanda Wingfield dominates her home and the lives of her two adult children, Laura and Tom. Fixated on her highly sensitive daughter’s future—and sensing her son’s need to leave the nest—Amanda demands Tom find a suitable “Gentleman Caller” to court her daughter. When Tom finally finds a potential suitor in a coworker at the local warehouse, the family spins into frenzied preparations for the momentous evening; a night no one will forget.
