I enjoyed reading the Glass Menagerie, it was a really interesting story and I felt as though I could see a similar scenario happening in real life today. Amanda is an overbearing parent who has made her daughter such a needy young women that although she acts as if she would like to find her a husband, I suspect she likes the fact that Laura is so dependent on her and Tom, her older brother. I believe that deep down Amanda realizes that Tom stays around out of his devotion to Laura, not her, and that if she keeps Laura dependent, she keeps Tom around to support her and Laura. Amanda is really a lazy overbearing mother who does not want to have to support herself and Laura, she wants Tom to support them forever. She plays on Toms sympathies by reminding him how much of a louse his father was, she even keeps a picture of him hanging which is odd, being she constantly reminds Tom she does not want him to become like his dad. I suspect she keeps the picture there to keep Tom feeling guilty enough to stay and continue to support them. Ironically, her actions are what is actually driving Tom away and he feels so guilty about leaving Laura that he cannot even enjoy his life once he breaks free of Amanda.
Amanda is the epitome of what a parent should strive NOT to be, she is self centered and does not put her children above herself. She releys on guilt and trickery to get her children to behave as she wants, and she does not move them toward independence, she actually stifles their independence and keeps them dependent on each other and her. The story was really very sad and interesting but not something you would strive to emulate.
Submitted by Margaret Russo
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