"THE GLASS MENAGERIE & A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

NOTE: ON ILLUSION The very nature of theater depends on illusion. When you watch a play you make believe that the actors on stage are the characters they portray. The better the acting, the more easily you accept the illusion. Here Tom forewarns you that the play is unreal. The characters, setting, props, effects, and so on are not meant to be real but rather to serve as metaphors and symbols of reality.

While illusion is part of any play, it is particularly vital in this one. Illusion, in fact, is a major theme. The characters survive because their illusions protect them from the painful facts of their lives. As you continue, keep in mind that illusions can prove to be self-destructive as well as helpful. Do the Wingfields' illusions create damage, or are they merely harmless aspects of their personalities?

The very first "trick" Tom has in store is a quick change in identity. In a moment, he leaves his role as narrator and as a younger man walks into the Wingfield dining room to join his mother Amanda and sister Laura at supper.

NOTE: Tom shifts between his role as narrator and his role as a character several times during the play. As narrator Tom moves the story from one episode to the next, informs you about himself and his family, and describes the social and political context of the play. Try to compare Tom's personality in his two roles. The narration takes place years after the story's events occurred. Do you notice differences between the two Toms? Which do you prefer? Think of what might have happened to him between the time he left his family and the time he comes back to tell his story.

Tom wishes he hadn't sat down, for no sooner does he start to eat than Amanda begins to lecture him on the need to chew his food properly. If you've ever been scolded about your table manners, you know how Tom feels. His mother gives advice kindly, but Tom can't stand it. He bolts from the table and reaches for a cigarette. But Amanda doesn't like Tom's smoking any more than his chewing.

NOTE: ON STAGING THE PLAY Tom's cigarette is probably imagery, just like the knives and forks. Remember, the play is not supposed to be realistic. Still another unrealistic feature is the use of legends and images projected on a screen. The legend which preceded this dinner scene reads "Ou sont les neiges," a phrase from an old French poem which asks, "Where are the snows of yesteryear?" The answer, of course, is "gone," just as the past is always gone. This legend lends an element of nostalgia to your feelings for Amanda. Throughout the play you will find other phrases and pictures. What, if anything, do they add to the play? Some critics have said they detract from the drama. Do you agree?

Laura offers to bring in the dessert. Is she being helpful or does she simply want to avoid listening to her mother nag Tom? Either way, Amanda stops Laura and says she'll play the "darky," a word that gives you a clue to Amanda's origins. She's from the South.

From the kitchen, Amanda begins to tell her children about the gentlemen callers she had as a girl in Blue Mountain. You can tell from Tom and Laura's reaction that they've heard the story before. Laura listens politely. Tom, on the other hand, is skeptical and impatient. Their reactions are important clues to their personalities and to the roles they play in the family. Because the facts of the tale change from time to time, Tom teases Amanda and utters sarcastic comments. He doesn't believe a word she says.

Does Amanda herself believe the story she's fond of telling? Does she really think that seventeen wealthy young admirers came to call on her one Sunday afternoon in Blue Mountain? You'll see later in the play that Amanda often twists truths. Does that mean she's a liar? She doesn't deceive anyone, and she's not out to harm anyone with her inventions. In fact, her intent is quite admirable, for she wants to help Laura find romance in her life. Many think that she deserves a pat on the back for her efforts. Tom, however, rejects Amanda's fantasy.

^^^^^^^^^^THE GLASS MENAGERIE: SCENE TWO

Alone in the apartment, Laura washes and polishes her glass collection. At the sound of her mother's footsteps outside, Laura hurriedly stows her menagerie and pretends to study the typing chart on the wall. Why doesn't she want to be caught caring for her glass animals? At the instant of Amanda's entrance, Laura starts to explain that she was just studying the chart. But as though she sees right through the pretense, Amanda says, "Deception? Deception?" But it's another deception that Amanda has in mind.

She acts brokenhearted, weeping and lamenting as though a terrible tragedy has occurred. She makes the most of this opportunity to play the role of betrayed mother. She is so melodramatic that you can't take her too seriously. She even yanks the typing chart from the wall and tears it into pieces. Meanwhile, Laura behaves as though she can't possibly imagine what has kindled Amanda's dismay. Laura may well suspect the origin of the trouble, however. For weeks she's been skipping her typing classes at Rubicam's Business College.

Sure enough, Amanda has found out. Typing seems like a fairly harmless course, but not for one as fragile as Laura. The pressure made her so sick that she threw up at the school. Then, instead of telling her mother, she has wandered the city each day until it was time to come home. For Laura it was easier to visit the zoo or the park than to reveal the truth and see that "awful suffering look" of disappointment on her mother's face. Does Laura's story sound plausible? While it explains her truancy, does it excuse her deception?

NOTE: ON THEMES Have you noticed that two interrelated themes--deception and illusion--have just appeared? They will show up repeatedly in numerous variations throughout the play. You should have no trouble spotting them.

In this scene both Amanda and Laura have practiced deception, pretending to be what they are not: Laura posed as a student of typing, and Amanda as a mother crushed by her daughter's betrayal. True, Amanda is wounded by Laura, but not to the extent she claims. Any time Amanda meets hard unpleasant facts, she's likely to be hurt. Perhaps that's why she often makes up illusions. Pretending keeps painful truths at arm's length.

For now, Amanda is caught in the illusion that Laura's problems will be solved by a typing course. Would you agree that learning to type seems like an effective way to solve Laura's problems? Laura herself doesn't seem to think so. She acts as though it's perfectly okay to play with her menagerie instead of working. She chooses to walk in the park instead of owning up to failure. When Laura says "I couldn't face it," she analyzes her condition accurately. She truly cannot face reality. And when Amanda discovers the truth about Laura, she has the urge to "find a hole in the ground and hide myself in it forever!"

Laura apparently fails to share her mother's concern about the future. She never talks about it, and despite Amanda's warnings, she does nothing to prepare for it. Laura seems almost like a small child in that respect.

Compared to Laura, Amanda is almost a realist. Experience has taught her that unless you earn a living you will inevitably depend on others all your life, eating the "crust of humility." Amanda asks Laura, "Is that the future we've mapped out for ourselves?"

The only choice left, of course, is marriage. Perhaps Amanda has considered it and discarded the notion for Laura. Remember that her own marriage turned out badly. What would Laura do if she, like Amanda, ended up with a runaway husband? Also, as far as we know, Laura has never had a date.

Regardless, Amanda's spirits are revived by the thought of Laura's marriage. Since Laura isn't cut out for a business career, she'll have to marry a nice young man. Laura objects: "I'm--crippled!" But Amanda won't hear it. She doesn't even want Laura to say the word.

NOTE: Does Laura have a point? Is she truly "crippled"? She limps just slightly. Would you say that she is more psychologically than physically crippled? What do you know about her thus far to suggest that she'll always have a hard time functioning in the world?

Amanda cringes at the word "crippled." She told Laura never to use the word. Perhaps Amanda believes in the power of words. That is, if you tell a lie often enough, after a while you begin to believe it. In what respects does this saying seem to be valid in The Glass Menagerie?

^^^^^^^^^^THE GLASS MENAGERIE: SCENE THREE

Tom returns as narrator to tell you about Amanda's obsession: finding a nice young man to marry Laura. If you have ever known someone with a one-track mind you can appreciate what Amanda must have been like at the time. She even took a part-time job selling magazine subscriptions by telephone to earn extra money for re-doing both Laura and the apartment. Amanda is a woman of action as well as words.

While Tom doesn't object to his mother's frantic activities, he doesn't support them either. Rather, he thinks they are amusing. At least he seems to poke gentle fun at Amanda's efforts. But do you note an ache in Tom's recollection of Amanda on the telephone with Ida Scott? He remembers how pathetically Amanda tried to ingratiate herself with a customer who obviously didn't care. Rather than admit to his pain, Tom recalls the situation with bitter humor. Like many people who demonstrate a talent for laughter when their emotions are stirred, Tom may laugh to keep from crying. What does Tom's attitude reveal about his deepest feelings toward his mother?