In Modern Domestic Tragedies, Death Is Often Shown Off Stage or Concealed. Although There Is No Visible Death in “the Glass Menagerie”, How Far Can You Argue That Death Is Still Presented as a Central Aspect of This Tragedy?
It can be argued ‘death’ is still presented as a central aspect of the tragedy albeit in metaphorical terms referring to William’s use of expressionism. He moves away from the literal representation of death to express a more subjective outlook on Tom’s state of mind. It is as if Williams is commenting that truth is in the mind and not in the eye, therefore there is no need for a visible death but it can have a firm presence. However, the idea of ‘death’ being central is only to an extent, as the concept of a hopeful, ‘living’ life and the ‘Romantic’ symbol of yearning for emotional and artistic fulfilment plays a significant role within the play. Life and death run in parallel epitomising there is a struggle, an internal conflict within the Wingfield household on whether death or life is superior as the characters are subjected to a living death, with the pressure of the literal and figurative metaphor of the four walls mounting upon them.
Tom reflects on an occasion where he went to observe Malvolio the Magician, in which he described the “wonderfullest trick” where “we nailed him into a coffin . . . he got out without removing one nail. There is a trick that would come in handy for me – get me out of this two-by-four situation!” (Scene 4) Here, Tom dwells on such fantastical ideals of escape yet he realises his escape would not be as seamless as a magician’s as “who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nails?”. The coffin symbolises the notion of Tom’s figurative death by emotional and spiritual suffocation as he experiences confinement from the strain of his stultifying life and the burden of responsibility. From this, the audience realise he defies the traditional conventions of Aristotle’s principle of a tragic hero who is “renowned and of superior attainments ”. Tom is merely an anti-hero, struggling to cope with the dreariness of his life. The visual imagery of escape runs in parallel with the powerful metaphor of a moral death,
Tom reflects on an occasion where he went to observe Malvolio the Magician, in which he described the “wonderfullest trick” where “we nailed him into a coffin . . . he got out without removing one nail. There is a trick that would come in handy for me – get me out of this two-by-four situation!” (Scene 4) Here, Tom dwells on such fantastical ideals of escape yet he realises his escape would not be as seamless as a magician’s as “who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nails?”. The coffin symbolises the notion of Tom’s figurative death by emotional and spiritual suffocation as he experiences confinement from the strain of his stultifying life and the burden of responsibility. From this, the audience realise he defies the traditional conventions of Aristotle’s principle of a tragic hero who is “renowned and of superior attainments ”. Tom is merely an anti-hero, struggling to cope with the dreariness of his life. The visual imagery of escape runs in parallel with the powerful metaphor of a moral death,
Bibliography: The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams, Methuen Student Edition Tennessee Williams ’The Glass Menagerie’ (Modern Critical Interpretations), Harold Bloom, 2007 edition The Glass Menagerie: a collection of critical essays- R.B. Parker, 1983 Adonais, an elegy on the death of John Keats, Percy Shelley 1927 The American Civil War, www.us-civilwar.com/ Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes, and Reviews Issue: Volume 23, Number 2 / April-June 2010 Pages: 76 – 85- Robert Cardello