Laura Wingfield, Tennessee Williams\' Subsumed and Symbolic

¶ … Laura Wingfield, Tennessee Williams' Subsumed and Symbolic Self in the Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie, the famous play written by Tennessee Williams in 1944, is a story that centers on the life of 20th century Americans evolving in a dynamic environment where social changes have been taking place (Cash, 2004). These social changes involve the individual's assertion of himself/herself against the norms or mores imposed by the society. Issues like independence, the phenomenon of broken families, and individualism are likewise discussed through the character and point-of-view of Tom Wingfield, often identified as Williams' representation (or real character) in the said play.

Although Glass Menagerie centers its attention on Tom, another character, Laura Wingfield, Tom's sister, emerges as another powerful individual in the story. Far from being assertive and mobile like Tom in the play, Laura is identified as the anti-thesis of Tom, seeking comfort in isolation caused by a sense of inferiority and her being a cripple. Her unfortunate and uncertain demise at the end of the play, including the substantial role that she plays in the play shows how, apart from being the weakest and most unrealistic character in the play, she also represents Williams' subsumed and symbolic self, an individual 'crippled' and 'immobile' not only physically, but also emotionally, having experienced failures and disappointments in life all her life.

This paper discusses Laura Wingfield's role in the play as Williams' alter ego, his representative and Tom's anti-thesis in the play, The Glass Menagerie. In conducting the character analysis of Laura, this paper posits that Laura Wingfield serves as Tom's anti-thesis and Williams' subsumed and symbolic self because she represents everything that the author feels and thinks-physically immobile because she is also psychologically and emotionally 'crippled.' The texts that follow illustrate how these premises are illustrated in the play, with references to critical articles concerning the character analysis of Laura Wingfield.

In the text of the play, Williams identifies Laura's character as an individual crippled by a childhood sickness, where her "separation increases till she is like a piece of her own glass collection, too exquisitely fragile to move from the shelf." Establishing Laura's character takes more than physically describing her deficiencies, such as her being crippled. Moreover, Laura is also characterized as a woman who has lost all hopes of attaining a wonderful life of being a wife and mother, as expressed in Amanda's worries that Laura will not be able to get married: "Mother's afraid I'm going to be an old maid" (36).

Laura's low regard for herself is not only developed within her, but also by the people who are with her, especially Amanda, her mother, and Tom. This observation is expressed among critics who have illustrated Laura's character as "symbolic," i.e., laden with hidden meanings meaningful only to Williams'. Indeed, she is identified as the character who is "burdened by self-consciousness," experiences a "sense of worthlessness," and "yearning for... ideal or mystical beauty and spiritual or romantic love... absolute emotional and artistic fulfillment" (Kolin, 1998:39-40). The third symbolic description of Laura, which pertains to her inherent likeness for 'mystical beauty' is symbolically represented by her fascination of her glass collection, considering them as objects that compensate for her imperfection.

The glasses' flawless beauty more than compensates for Laura's imperfection; they also serve as a representation or 'reflection' of Laura's character, a woman who has become fragile because of her insecurities. This point is expressed by Amanda in Scene 2, where she admonishes her daughter for not living her life to the fullest, and being self-absorbed by her physical defect: "So what are we going to do the rest of our lives?... Amuse ourselves with the glass menagerie?... I know so well what becomes of unmarried women who aren't prepared to occupy a position..." (42). In this instance, Amanda puts pressure into Laura's already dwindling self-confidence, by her reminding her that she has yet to achieve what every woman aspires to be in their society -- becoming a mother and wife. Laura, crippled and hence, physically immobile, is also becoming socially immobile, who had lost opportunities in life because of her physical defect.

However, the pressure she and her family puts on her psyche serves a function within the play's context. With Laura's social immobility and physical defect, she becomes the 'perfect scapegoat,' which Amanda and Tom uses to justify their inefficiencies in the play. In the role of a 'scapegoat,' Laura is "the identified-patient who is carrying the pathology of the entire family... The symptom bearer, expressing a family's disequilibrium" (Single:75). Laura as the character subsumed in the play reflects Williams', as well as Tom Wingfield's, feelings of self-pity and depression in life. According to Haley (1995), Laura's character represents "... A less real character and a more powerful element of Tom's consciousness than Amanda. Tom can be expected, from a psychological standpoint, to react more from Laura-driven feelings of emotional distress then from an Amanda-driven mixture of heroism and foolishness..."

Haley's assessment illustrates the weakness and strength of Laura's character in the play. As a cripple, Laura is physically and socially immobile, deprived of simple wants and joys of life as a result of her being 'different.' However, she is also portrayed as the source of Tom and Amanda's strengths in the play, as they continue through life because of her, particularly in looking after her welfare. Although she may be generally viewed as a burden for her family, she is also a character who creates a 'balance' between Amanda's expressive and Tom's restrained personalities.