Themes of The Glass Menagerie

Themes of The Glass Menagerie The play, The Glass Menagerie, explores the difficulties of human relationships. The themes used express the inner complexities of the human mind by portraying how people alter their memories based on their perceptions of reality. In The Glass Menagerie we follow the Wingfield family who manipulate their own perceptions to exaggerate their way life. At the beginning of the play, Tom Wingfield, the main character, was experiencing deeply conflicting emotions over whether or not he should leave his family to pursue his own life. Tom’s memories are the ones in which the play is presented, his emotions possibly exaggerating and altering the events portrayed. The themes that take place in The Glass Menagerie explain the reason behind the deep personal emotions expressed by the characters. A major theme that takes place in The Glass Menagerie is illusion versus reality. All the Wingfields all have an altered sense of reality because of the illusions they’ve created for themselves as coping mechanisms for their lives. The mother, Amanda Wingfield, has self-deceived herself into believing that the daughter, Laura Wingfield, is a popular young socialite. This self-delusion is important because Amanda is attempting to relive her past through Laura and this is causing a strain in their relationship. Laura is convinced her leg defect is much more noticeable than it truly is. Laura imagines the clomping her leg made when wearing a brace is similar to a thundering around. Laura’s perception of the way others see her leg defect leads to severe social anxiety caused by an illusion she created for