Victorian Echoes: Women's Dependence in The Glass Menagerie

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Women in the Glass Menagerie Women in the Glass Menagerie were modeled after women of the Victorian age: "They all seem to reflect a Victorian culture in the South which required that a lady be charming but not a breadwinner. They lived in a world of their own imagination and are unable to cope with a highly competitive, commercial society. Their dreams center around men who were never there" (Falk 168). They are not raised to be simple housewives but to be prim and proper. This may be covering up the true frustration of the women of this time. Amanda Wingfield has been abandoned by her husband and is frustrated because of it. She needed a male figure to help her through life. The main focus of this essay is on the dependency of women on men. Louis Blackwell writes about the predicament of women in the Glass Menagerie: Williams is making a commentary on Western culture by dramatizing his belief that men and women find reality and meaning in life through satisfactory sexual relationships" (Stanton 101). Neither Laura nor Amanda has a satisfactory sexual relation too speak of. Therefore both lead odd unhappy lives. Amanda lives in the past and Laura escapes into her world of glass ornaments. The main focus of both Amanda and Laura is to find that mate who will rescue them. This is a difficult task and is put on the shoulders of Tom. The search for a mate is actually the search for reality. Until a mate is found, they will remain in the world of delusions. Amanda constantly nags Laura to stay pretty for her gentlemen callers; without them she will not be able to escape out of her current situation. Without a man she will not be successful. Laura discusses Amanda's concerns about not having any gentlemen callers. "Mother's afraid I'm going to be an old maid" (Williams 36). It is a disgrace for a woman not to have a mate.

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