The Glass Menagerie

A Brother and Sister Relationship

In the play, "The Glass Menagerie", the characters and relationships between them are very unique. Two unique characters that have a very strong relationship are the brother Tom, and his sister, Laura. Tom is a confused, young man who supports his sister. Laura, his sister, has very low-self esteem and does nothing but sulk around the house all day. Their mother Amanda, is absolutely a lunatic. She is obsessive and controlling to her children, because she wants them to live the life she wanted to live. While Tom works hard to support his family, and has a strong care for Laura, he feels trapped and confused.

After working long hard days, Tom has to come home to the reality of his critical mother, his poor helpless sister, and their tiny, cramped apartment. Tom feels a lot of resentment towards his father for abandoning the family. He escapes his feelings and emotions by going out all night to the "movies" or the "bar". There was never any real truth in where he went. When Tom is at home he feels trapped, like he is in a cage and can not escape. Tom sometimes thinks he is stuck with the burden with taking care of his family, when he could be out living his own life. He is constantly arguing with his mother, Amanda. She always has something to say no matter what Tom does.

In his heart, Tom truly cares for his sister. He wants her to be happy and lead a good life. He knows that she has potential, but is afraid the world would turn her away because of her handicap. In his article about being confined in Tom's apartment, Eric P. Levy writes "Tom, the narrator and chief character, the past when he started "to boil inside" with the urge to leave home because a haunting memory from which his present struggles vainly to free" (1965). Tom wanted to leave home so badly for himself, he did not realize how much he cared for his sister. He abandoned Laura like their father abandoned them, and he felt major regret for leaving.

Laura, Tom's sister, is crippled and stays at home with her mother. She has no confidence in herself and is very quiet and shy. She just keeps to herself and does not talk very much. Her life is surrounded by her glass ornaments that she collects. The little glass ornaments represent her life. Her life is like a translucent little piece of glass. Laura chooses to not work and stay at home and confine herself in the tiny apartment. In her article about William's use of small spaces in his plays, Jacqueline O'Connor writes "Laura is voluntarily confined in the apartment, which, according to her mother, will lead to permanent confinement if she does not pursue a career or marriage" (1967). Laura does not believe in her abilities that much, and can do more than she thinks she can. Laura's mothers only answer to her getting