Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie," is a portrayal of the fragile psyches of its characters -- an arrangement of tiny, delicate glass figurines whose essence of life can be shattered very easily. This arrangement takes place in a cramped apartment in St. Louis, inhabited by Amanda Wingfield, her son Tom, and daughter Laura, the husband having deserted the family several years ago. Another character, perhaps the most stable, is Jim O'Connor, a former schoolmate of Tom and Laura.

The play is really a representation of Tom's memory as he admits at the beginning of the play; everything flows from his memories. Amanda vacillates between moments of manic activity and languid recollections of her past southern heritage. She boasts of all the gentlemen callers she has had, and the cotillions she graced. She continually questions her daughter about any dates she might have; and, "how many callers she will be seeing."...
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