There are many motifs and themes in this play along with symbolism. I read that Williams enjoys symbols and making things particularly obvious that they stand for something else. Some major themes in the play are glass, distortion of memory, and reluctance to accept the truth.
Laura basically is the glass that she handles every day. She is so socially inept that she cannot hold a conversation with a boy without feeling like she is going to puke. Now, granted, she is crippled so that causes some problems, but I think the main source of her insecurity is from her mother. Her mom always makes it sound like Laura isn't good enough because she doesn't have male suitors. Her mom doesn't approve of her or even think she is pretty when she speaks to her because when Mr. O'Connor comes over, her mom tells her that this is the prettiest she will ever be. Laura is simply fragile...just like the glass she deals with...and one day she is going to break.
This play is all told from memory which makes time very distorted and things very biased. Since Tom is telling the story, his mother may seem more harsh than she actually was because he was so suffocated by her presence. She definitely never changes throughout most of the story though so that makes it hard to believe he was exaggerating too much when he speaks about her. Memory's are often selective so we may not be getting the entire picture from the story either. This theme of the distortion of memory is indirectly shown through the play because sometimes there are things that just don't add up--a.k.a. the nonrealistic components.
Then comes the reluctance to accept the truth--basically Amanda's entire character. She lives vicariously through her daughter's life, but her daughter is not all she wants her to be. Amanda wants her daughter to be the most beautiful girl in the world with all of the confidence that comes along with that, but Laura is just too shy and too insecure to "live up" to her mother's expectations. Amanda also doesn't want to accept that she settled for a man who up and left her without a question. She is not good at accepting the truth if she doesn't like it, and I'm afraid that will cause her much pain toward the end of the story.
Laura basically is the glass that she handles every day. She is so socially inept that she cannot hold a conversation with a boy without feeling like she is going to puke. Now, granted, she is crippled so that causes some problems, but I think the main source of her insecurity is from her mother. Her mom always makes it sound like Laura isn't good enough because she doesn't have male suitors. Her mom doesn't approve of her or even think she is pretty when she speaks to her because when Mr. O'Connor comes over, her mom tells her that this is the prettiest she will ever be. Laura is simply fragile...just like the glass she deals with...and one day she is going to break.
This play is all told from memory which makes time very distorted and things very biased. Since Tom is telling the story, his mother may seem more harsh than she actually was because he was so suffocated by her presence. She definitely never changes throughout most of the story though so that makes it hard to believe he was exaggerating too much when he speaks about her. Memory's are often selective so we may not be getting the entire picture from the story either. This theme of the distortion of memory is indirectly shown through the play because sometimes there are things that just don't add up--a.k.a. the nonrealistic components.
Then comes the reluctance to accept the truth--basically Amanda's entire character. She lives vicariously through her daughter's life, but her daughter is not all she wants her to be. Amanda wants her daughter to be the most beautiful girl in the world with all of the confidence that comes along with that, but Laura is just too shy and too insecure to "live up" to her mother's expectations. Amanda also doesn't want to accept that she settled for a man who up and left her without a question. She is not good at accepting the truth if she doesn't like it, and I'm afraid that will cause her much pain toward the end of the story.
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