Laura in Williams\' the Glass

¶ … Laura in Williams' the Glass Menagerie

Laura Wingfield in Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, is one of the most pitifully tough characters in western literature. She encompasses everything we associate with weakness yet she proves to be the character with the most strength by the end of the play. This attribute does not save her from any particular ending or destination but it does raise her above the level of helplessness that others so eagerly attach to her throughout the play. Laura emerges from the play like one of her Romantic predecessors -- by escaping from her environment through music and art, an aspect of her personality that gives her power no one acknowledges. Laura's encounter with Jim undoubtedly brings a certain level of strength from her out of her as she responds to the loss of one of her most prized possessions. However, the basis of her strength comes from within and, as we witness it, we realize she is more mature than anyone realizes. As she blows out the candles at the end of the play, we see this maturity in full bloom. Roger Stein notes the condition of man, and particularly Laura, in his article, "The Glass Menagerie Revisited: Catastrophe without Violence." The catastrophe lands squarely on Laura, who represents the frail character and the bleak forecast.

Laura is the least likely character to experience anything significant in the play. She is quiet, reserved and extremely insular. Indeed, throughout most of the play, Williams attaches symbols of innocence and weakness to Laura and these attachments make the sorrowful ending even more difficult to accept. However, they also make Laura's transformation more powerful. She is not as weak as everyone believes because she finds ways to adapt as Cardullo points out. These ways include listening to music and becoming involved with her glass collection. The figures embody the "fragility of Laura's world" (Stein) and "stand in "vivid contrast to the harshness of the outside world, the so-called world of reality which can shatter it so easily" (Stein). The collection plays with light and reflects it from different angles. The shapes are bright and pleasing to the eye. They are very different from the world in which the Wingfield's live. The figurines are fragile, like Laura. When she tells Jim, "Glass is something you have to take good care of" (Williams 1015), the audience understands that she is just as delicate as the glass figures. This is the first impression the audience has of Laura and it is important because it becomes a stark contrast to the woman that emerges when one of her figurines breaks. Laura finds another aspect of herself after the tragedy and while the whole thing must have broken her heart, it made her stronger. This transformation is significant to the final scene in the play when Laura blows out the candles because the audience sees Laura as a strong individual. They get their first glimpse of this with Laura's reaction to the broken unicorn and this final scene solidifies her as a dimensional character, weak but more importantly, strong.

Laura's transformation is also important because of the mood and tone of the drama. Williams is certain to evoke a certain amount of hopelessness throughout the story. The lighting in the play emphasizes a sense of despair and loss surrounding the Wingfield's experience. When Jim fails to be the kind of suitor Amanda wants him to be, the hope for the family dims immediately. There seems to be no one way out for them and there appears to be no hope for Laura ever finding a mate. Williams alludes to light flickering on a devastated facade before this scene, reminding the audience of the transitory moments of our lives. There was an incredible amount of hope attached to Jim; it surrounded him like the glow of a candle flame. That flame demonstrates just how transient things are in this world.

One of the most compelling scenes in the play occurs at the end of the story when the audience hears Tom speaking and sees Laura blowing out the candles, revealing a dark and lonely place. Stein comments on the lighting in the play, noting, "The flickering candlelight of Jim's scene with Laura is not enough to sustain the illusion; at the end of their scene this illusion collapses and we are left in darkness" (Stein). That Laura blows out the candles is significant because it reveals her change of character and her ability to face whatever the future holds. This woman is accepting what she and the audience perceive to be the truth. The world will not destroy Laura in a way the audience thought possible at the beginning of the play. Instead, the audience sees an image of Laura rising to the occasion and doing what she must do to care for what is left of her family. Blowing out the candle does not mean the end per se, but it does offer a certain acceptance. Laura accepts the men in her life are gone but she will not let this destroy her and while she may revert into her own world again, she is doing so in response to a cold world. In truth, she is not doing much that the rest of the world does when it chooses to escape. Laura blows out the candles and, suddenly, it is completely dark. Darkness is within and without and Williams creates this mood to emphasize the struggle of life and the urgency of Laura and Amanda's situation. While it is desperate, it is not hopeless because the audience witnesses a small miracle in Laura.

The final scene in the play is one that encapsulates the essence of the entire play. Laura blowing out the candles indicates the lack of hope there is for this family and, coupled with Tom's actions, we can only guess how things will turn out for Laura and Amanda. This is a dark moment but Laura shows sign of hope with her strength and her ability to comprehend what is happening around her and to cope with it. When we read the holy candles on her face are snuffed out, followed by infinite desolation, we understand the significance of the darkness. The candles Laura blows out in the final scene are the ones Jim brought to the Wingfield's apartment and when she blows them out, she is closing two chapters in her life. The first chapter is that of having Tom in her life and the second is the hope of ever finding a mate. This is significant to the play because it is a mature step, however sad it may be. The growing darkness is one that stays despite the miraculous discovery Laura makes earlier in the evening. She discovers she is not a freak and she realizes she has compassion, which makes her even more attractive. However, this proves not to be enough to rescue her from the life Tom decides to leave behind. When Laura blows out the candles, she is admitting what we already know.