The Glass Menagerie
By: Tennessee Williams
A common literary element within The Glass Menagerie is the use of motifs to unify new ideas to a
theme. Such motifs are presented through the reference to adventure by movie
viewing, drama as in music, and loneliness as a result of being left alone and
deserted. Most prevalent however, is the motif of the gentleman caller as a
theme of hope and love.
“Like some archetype of the universal conscious, the image
of the gentleman caller haunted our small apartment…(1244)” The focus of the memory and story told by Tom
Winfield is of the expectation of a gentleman caller for Laura Wingfield, his
sister. The gentleman caller becomes a recurring image used throughout the
novel to symbolize hope of Laura’s marriage which would free the family. For
Tom, the gentleman caller represents his freedom to no longer be responsible
for the care of the family, but to be free to pursue his dream of adventure.
For Amanda, Tom’s and Laura’s mother, the gentleman caller represents security
for her children. For Laura, the gentleman caller is a source of uncertain hope
and potential love. For the reader, the gentleman caller is a source of
mysterious companionship. As an entity, however, the gentleman caller was an
image of purpose and solution as explained in the excerpt “An evening at home
rarely passed without some allusion to this image, this specter, this hope…(Page
1244)”
The gentleman caller was one of the most powerful motifs
presented within the play. It represented and connected the idea of love to
adventure, safety, and hope. Thus, the gentleman caller became a motif of the
play.
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