Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie

Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie

Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie furnishes an excellent example of a carefully crafted, complex character whose speech and action arise from the "psychological" being created by the playwright. In his character description, Tennessee Williams starts his reader on the road to discovering Amanda's complexity.

AMANDA WINGFIELD the mother. A little woman of great but confused vitality clinging frantically to another time and place. Her characterization must be carefully created, not copied from type. She is not paranoiac, but her life is paranoia. There is much to admire in Amanda, and as much to love and pity as there is to laugh at. Certainly she has endurance and a kind of heroism, and though her foolishness makes her unwittingly cruel at times, there is tenderness in her slight person. (781)

Before the first lines are spoken Amanda's complexity is established by the nuances and contrasts given here. This basic description must be laid over all dialogue and action throughout the play so as to preserve the fullness of Amanda's character at times when only portions of her nature are being exhibited.

The complexity of Amanda's character directly affects her action and dialogue with her children. In her role as mother she exhibits an overwhelming desire to see her children succeed in life. In trying to push them toward her ideal of success, she at times unwittingly hurts them even though she means well. Her actions often hide her intense love for her children, but it is an important driving force in her motivations. She loves them too well--at times to a point of smothering them (perhaps the reason for the departure of her husband)--which results in her attempt to push them towards all the good things she has known and remembered and away from anything that does not suit her ideal.

As Amanda calls Tom to the table in Scene I and comments on manners and habits, we have our first glimpse of Amanda, the mother. She corrects actions much as mothers have done throughout time in accordance with her own sense of importance.

Animals have sections in their stomachs which enable them to digest food without mastication, but human beings are supposed to chew their food before they swallow it down. Eat food leisurely, son, and really enjoy it. A well-cooked meal has lots of delicate flavors that have to be held in the mouth for appreciation. So chew your food and give your salivary glands a chance to function. (783 ll. 57-65)

Thus, for Amanda, the variety of dishes to be savored during the elegant leisurely meals of her youth have become synonymous with the status of the leisurely life-style she so fondly remembers. Tom has no concept of dinner in the South so she adapts her correction to digestion hoping he will understand this more physical depiction as opposed to the one that is so vivid for her while lacking in reality for her children. For Amanda meals should be an emotional experience enhanced by proper manners. Although she is seeking to communicate and share this experience with her children, her words only manage to antagonize Tome and heighten tension between them.

Amanda exhibits her aristocratic background as she carries forward the concepts of class practiced in the South of her youth. The impact of this background is felt in her clinging to the past and her recurring girlish characteristics that accompany her attempt to revive and hold on to that time in her life. In a light-hearted manner she seeks to impart a sense of elevated status to her children. She will play the servant role so that they can experience the aristocratic status she grew up enjoying. To her these are not seen as derogatory placings of people, but merely as facts of how things were meant to be.

We find many aspects of Amanda being reinforced as Scene II opens. her dress is designed to maintain appearances in public. It is dated but reflects her effort to be stylish. She cannot emotionally handle failure and that carries over in her attitude about her appearance. However, her outlook on successful dressing is determined by her eyes which lack the objectivity to see herself as others see her.

Amanda shows her dramatic nature in the melodramatic way she confronts Laura with the discovery of Laura's failure in business school. Amanda has difficulty accepting what we see of Laura because she cannot truly understand it. Amanda knows how to talk and hold her own in virtually any situation. She cannot fathom a child of hers who is deathly afraid of people. Amanda, like a typical mother, believes in her children and all they can become. Her view is colored by eyes of love that refuse to waiver.

In sending Laura to business school, Amanda was attempting to be practical by providing for Laura's future. Although she refuses to vocally acknowledge Laura's short- comings, this action seems to indicate her recognition of a need for Laura to be provided for outside of a dependence on social situations. Amanda, the dreamer, does not see that Laura has inherited from her the daydreaming, unreal qualities while Laura has missed the practical aspects that help Amanda cope with daily living. In an attempt to face reality, Amanda decides that the only alternative left is to find Laura a husband. Within Amanda's realm of knowledge and experience this presents the only possible solution. When Amanda refuses to acknowledge defects in Laura it is difficult to ascertain where reality truly lies since Tom and Laura give one perspective and Amanda and Jim give another.

Amanda's actions can be at least partially understood when set beside her fear of dependency on others. For her this reflects the lowest possible ebb of life and no cost is too great that will keep her children (and her) from becoming unwanted dependents.

In dealing with Tom, her plans are not as specific as they are for Laura--perhaps he has a stronger will with which to battle her. Amanda dreams of his advancement and encourages him to improve himself. She attempts to mold him according to her beliefs about his responsibilities as the man of the house. She seeks to teach Tom to fill the role abandoned by his father. Tom's perspective of Amanda is not generally kind. Amanda usually lightly dismisses his attitude thus showing her inability to face unpleasant realities. Anything she finds unpleasant is glossed over to make it palatable to her outlook of hope. The one time things become too intense for Amanda to lightly dismiss Tom's comments (790 ll. 15-16), she responds with the petty hurt feelings of a child (790 11. 30-35).

When Amanda reminisces about her past suitors, we know this is a common occurrence from the comments made by Laura and Tom. Dramatic tension is present in the varying attitudes displayed towards Amanda's escapist reminiscing. Tom is bored and tired of the same old story. It is important to recognize that the action is being related from Tom's memory and, thus, his perspective. When dealing with Amanda's recollections of her youth, therefore, the statements must be seen through first the distortion of her memory followed by the distortion of Tom's memory. Tom is skeptical and tries to question the validity of Amanda's memories. He attempts to probe reality--but not in a helpful way. The truth he seeks would destroy Amanda. Exhibiting a totally different response, Laura chooses to humor and "mother" Amanda as she recognizes the importance of Amanda's dreams in helping her continue living. Even Jim, the outsider, has to confront Amanda's past when she greets him wearing the relic of a dress from the trunk and displaying all the characteristics of girlish flirtation of her early years. For Amanda these moments of reflection and reliving are one of those few aspects of life which remain always positive. She remembers her looks, personality, and conversations about things of importance requiring wit and a quick tongue. There is irony in her statement about conversations on important topics when contrasted with Tom's introductory monologue where he seems to reflect a world of important happenings being ignored by the world he knows.

Amanda recalls being surrounded by suitors who were not people to be discounted lightly. She shares story after story of the success of each one and relishes their attachment to her. When faced with the consequences of her choice of husband, however, her psychological make-up will not allow her to take the memory forward because to include the failure of her marriage would destroy the images she is so fond of recalling. The staging suggests her internal struggle with this reality as she comes to the point of saying:

And then I--[She stops in front of the picture. MUSIC] met your father! Malaria fever and jonquils and then--this--boy. . . .[She switches on the rose-colored lamp.] I hope that they get here before it starts to rain. (800 ll. 26-31)

When faced with going farther than she is ready to handle, she has to change subjects, distract herself and her listener from what is left unsaid.

As Amanda loses herself in girlish remembrances she fantasizes about the same situations occurring for her daughter with all the beaus and excitement of gentlemen of importance coming to call. She refuses to acknowledge the passing of time or the differences between Laura and herself. Amanda becomes obsessed with the idea of finding Laura a husband and developing a plan of action to accomplish this. Once her goal is outlined, Amanda sets out to earn the extra money necessary to pay for the proposed campaign. To do this she takes on a job that, were Amanda to think about it, she would find demeaning. But the practical optimist in her chooses to overlook this unpleasant thought. Her approach is bold and she has a toughened exterior that helps her deal with rejection. This contrasts with the fragile woman clinging to her past but is believable in line with the complex whole that is Amanda.

In the final stage directions of the concluding scene of the play, Williams helps clarify our view of Amanda when he directs:

AMANDA appears to be making a comforting speech to LAURA who is huddled upon the sofa. Now that we cannot hear the mother's speech, her silliness is gone and she has dignity and tragic beauty . . . . AMANDA's gestures are slow and graceful, almost dance-like, as she comforts the daughter. (814 ll. 41-49)

Stripped of her distracting dialogue in which she means well but often fails in her intentions, Amanda is revealed as a normal, caring mother who desires the best for her children and readily offers comfort when they are hurt. Her actions reflect back to the contradictions of Williams' original description of her especially when the cause for Laura's need of comfort can be traced to Amanda's schemes and plans.

As a "psychological" being, Amanda reflects the whole of mind, emotions, and body. The few examples cited help show how Tennessee Williams crafted Amanda Wingfield with all these aspects in evidence to maker her real for the audience. As she becomes a true-to-life being she becomes an important part in the turning of the action throughout the play helping to elevate The Glass Menagerie to the level of a masterpiece of modern drama.

Works Cited

Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. Masterpieces of the Drama. Ed. Alexander W. Allison, Arthus J. Carr, Arthur M. Eastman. 5th ed. NY: Macmillan, 1986. 779- 814.

Works Consulted

Barranger, Milly S., ed. "Understanding Character." Understanding Plays. Boston: Allyn, 1990. 307-314.

Bigsby, C.W.E. A Critical Introduction to Twentieth-Century American Drama. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984.

Falk, Signi. "The Southern Gentlewoman." Modern Critical Interpretations Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie. ed. Harold Bloom. NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. 79-87.

Jackson, Esther Merle. The Broken World of Tennessee Williams. Madison: & of Wisconsin P, 1965.

Parker, R.B., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Glass Menagerie. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice, 1983.

Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. Understanding Plays. Ed. Milly S. Barranger. Boston: Allyn, 1990, 315-363.