The Unicorn Figurine in The Glass Menageie by Tennessee Williams

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In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, the glass figurine of the unicorn plays an inherently important role as a representation of Laura's self esteem. The collection of glass figurines is used by Laura to escape from the dangers of the outside world. The unicorn is the central piece to her collection and is important because it directly symbolizes Laura. The unicorn represents Laura's obsession with her handicap and also represents the uniqueness in her character. As the play develops, the fracture of the unicorn's horn represents a change in Laura's perspective of self and also gives a reason to why she parts with the figurine in the end.

The unicorn is a mythological figure. Closely related to the horse, it is uniqueness comes in the form of a long horn located on the center of its forehead. In Laura's menagerie, it is unlike the other figures. In fact, Laura refers to the unicorn as being "freakish." (109) Her characterization of the unicorn reflects how she feels about herself. It is because of its uniqueness that Laura chose to identify with it. She creates a world with her figurines in which the abnormal coexists with the normal. When Jim, the gentleman caller, inquires about the unicorn being lonely, she replies, "He stays on a shelf with some horses that don't have horns and all of them seem to get along nicely together."(101) In her imaginary world no one judges her because of her limp and it is that world she is capable of coping in. Laura's characterization of the figurines hints at her inner desires to be able to deal with the outside world and become less "freakish." Laura tells Jim, "[the figurines] all like a change of scenery once in a while." (102)

The delicacy of the glass unicorn reflects the fragility of Laura, emotionally and physically. Laura describes the unicorn as being the most fragile out of the group, indicating how she feels about herself in a world with normal people. Laura can be broken both literally and figuratively as easily as glass. "If you breathe[on glass], it breaks." (101)

Laura suffers from an "inferiority complex," much like how Jim described. She feels burdened with

The fracture of the unicorn converted the figurine from "freakish" to normal. At this point in the play, Laura is no longer retreating to her imaginary world.

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