The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, is about four persons who are trying to avoid their present real life by retreating into their separate worlds. The Glass Menagerie is a memory play because it is told from the memory of the narrator, Tom Wingfield. The readers live the story through Tom’s eyes, they see what he sees and feel what he feels. Both, the play’s style and content are inspired by memory.

According to Williams, “nostalgia…..is the first condition of the play” (Production Notes). The use of music, lack of realism and the frequent symbolism are all due to its origins in memory. As it will be illustrated in this paper, memory is a major theme of the play because most characters are haunted by it. It will also display the various symbols of escape in the play, and why some characters prefer to escape their lives by living in the past. Continue Reading »