Of particular interest for this paper is the juxtaposition of conflicting traits in Amanda's character. On the one hand, she is characterized by critics as the good mother and perpetuator. On the other hand, she is the terrible, cruel mother and perpetrator. These different characteristics seem to be directly connected to Amanda’s relationship to her children. For her daughter she is the good mother, trying everything to ensure her daughter’s security in the future. Her son experiences his mother’s treatment as suffocating and restricting for his dreams and ambitions. Yet, both of these different attitudes seem to be motivated by the same disposition in Amanda: the love and devotion of a mother for her children. Consequently, there must be other reasons that motivate Amanda’s behavior. This paper is going to consider the social and economical situation in the USA at the time of the play, Amanda’s glorification of her own past and the fact that the play is Tom’s memory for a combination of these three points seem to be the reason why Amanda is portrait as such an ambiguous character in the drama.
To begin with, the relevant social and economic circumstances in the USA during the time of the play are going to be analyzed. Amanda’s glorification of her past is then discussed followed by the analysis of the influence of Tom’s memory on the portrayal of Amanda in the play. Finally, the results of the analysis of the three factors are applied to the relationship of Amanda and her children.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Portrait of a Mother
2.1. Situation in the USA at the Time of the Play
2.2. Amanda’s Glorified Past
2.3. The Importance of Memory
2.4. Relationship to Her Children
2.4.1. Relationship to Her Daughter: Laura
2.4.2. Relationship to Her Son: Tom
3. Conclusion
4. Bibliography
Research Objectives and Themes
This academic paper examines the character of Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams' play "The Glass Menagerie," analyzing her portrayal as both a devoted "good mother" and an oppressive "terrible mother" through the lens of Tom Wingfield's subjective memory.
- The socio-economic impact of the Great Depression on the Wingfield family dynamics.
- Amanda’s psychological reliance on the "myth of the Old South" and her glorified past.
- The role of memory and poetic license in shaping the audience's perception of characters.
- The conflicting nature of maternal devotion and its detrimental effects on Laura and Tom.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Situation in the USA at the Time of the Play
The plot of the Glass Menagerie “is set against the larger social context of the country in the 1930s.” It was a time in the history of the USA when “[w]orry and fear became dominant.” The Great Depression forced many families to fight for their survival after losing their income, jobs and savings. The situation in the urban areas of the South and North began to worsen quickly after the stock market crash. Soon “unemployment reached alarming levels”. In other words, times were hard and trying for many American families. These social and economical woes of American society in the 1930s are also evident in the struggle the Wingfield family is going through in The Glass Menagerie, as exhibited by the living situation of the family, paying bills at the grocery store, and Amanda’s constant fear that Tom could lose his job.
The Wingfield apartment is located in a building that is described as:
[…] one of those vast hive-like conglomerations of cellular living-units that flower as warty growths in overcrowded urban centers of lower middle-class population and are symptomatic of the impulse of this largest and fundamentally enslaved section of American society to avoid fluidity and differentiation and to exist and function as one interfused mass of automatism. (143)
The building is depicted as a disease that infests urban centers. This becomes evident in words such as “warty growths” and “symptomatic”. An image of enclosed space, slavery and also of uniformity is created in this description of the apartment complex. It clearly is a dead end for an aspiring poet that is looking for adventure and a former southern belle that grew up in a grand house with a porch. Amanda clearly articulates her discontent with their current housing by expressing her longing for a better place to live: “A fire escape landing’s a poor excuse for a porch.”(180). Her mannerism also indicates this when she sits down “[…] as if she were settling into a swing on a Mississippi veranda.”(180).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The introduction outlines the research interest in Amanda’s conflicting character traits and establishes the three analytical pillars: the socio-economic context, the role of the past, and the subjective nature of memory.
2. Portrait of a Mother: This central chapter explores how external historical pressures and internal personal myths shape Amanda's parenting and the subsequent strained relationships with her children.
2.1. Situation in the USA at the Time of the Play: This section details how the Great Depression created a climate of financial fear that directly influenced the Wingfield family's survival struggle and Amanda's constant anxiety.
2.2. Amanda’s Glorified Past: The author analyzes how Amanda retreats into the myth of the Old South, using it as a defensive mechanism against her harsh reality and as a misguided template for her children's lives.
2.3. The Importance of Memory: This segment explains that because the play is a "memory play," all characterizations are filtered through Tom's perspective, making them inherently subjective and potentially exaggerated.
2.4. Relationship to Her Children: This chapter synthesizes the findings to examine how Amanda’s devotion leads her to adopt extreme behaviors, which are ultimately perceived differently by her daughter and her son.
2.4.1. Relationship to Her Daughter: Laura: This subsection highlights Amanda’s well-intentioned but destructive efforts to ensure Laura’s future through social and professional pressure, which ignore Laura's actual disposition.
2.4.2. Relationship to Her Son: Tom: This subsection addresses the friction between Tom and Amanda, noting how his resentment towards her, fueled by guilt and his father’s legacy, defines her as a "terrible mother" in his memory.
3. Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes that Amanda’s ambiguity stems from her devotion to survival, exacerbated by the Great Depression and the subjective filter of Tom’s narrative.
4. Bibliography: This section lists the primary text and the secondary literature used to support the analysis of Tennessee Williams' work.
Keywords
The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams, Amanda Wingfield, Great Depression, Memory Play, Tom Wingfield, Laura Wingfield, Old South, Myth, Mother-Child Relationship, Subjectivity, Modern American Drama, Socio-economic context, Character Analysis, Maternal Devotion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper examines the dual nature of Amanda Wingfield as both a well-meaning protector and an oppressive figure within the context of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie."
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
The core themes include the impact of the Great Depression, the influence of the past on the present, the fallibility of human memory, and the complexities of maternal love and familial obligations.
What is the main research question or objective?
The objective is to explain why Amanda is portrayed as such an ambiguous character by analyzing the intersection of socio-economic pressures, her obsession with the past, and Tom’s subjective narration.
Which scientific methods are utilized in this analysis?
The paper employs a literary analysis method, using the original text of the play as primary data and supplementing it with secondary critical scholarship to interpret character motivations and dramatic effects.
What is covered in the main body of the paper?
The main body breaks down the factors influencing Amanda's behavior: the economic crisis of the 1930s, her romanticized view of her youth in the Old South, the distorting lens of Tom's memory, and her specific interactions with Laura and Tom.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include "The Glass Menagerie," "Memory Play," "Amanda Wingfield," "Great Depression," "Subjectivity," and "Maternal Devotion."
How does the Great Depression specifically affect Amanda's behavior?
The depression creates an atmosphere of financial insecurity, which turns money into a primary concern for Amanda, leading her to prioritize survival over the emotional or developmental needs of her children.
In what way does the "memory" aspect of the play influence the characterization of Amanda?
Because the story is presented through Tom's memory, the characters are not dynamic; they are frozen in his perspective, which highlights his own guilt and resentment, thereby casting Amanda in a more negative or "terrible" light than she might otherwise appear.
- Quote paper
- Annett Gräfe (Author), 2007, Portrait of a mother in Tennessee Williams' memory play 'The Glass Menagerie', Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/71873
