Laura in Tennessee Williams' Glass Menagerie

According to the Feminist Theory, a feminist critic will interpret the following passages from Tennessee Williams' Glass Menagerie in terms of how Laura's physical body psychologically affects her life and affairs as well as consider what she should psychologically renounce in order to approve of herself as a desirable female. Laura's dialogue sheds light on her inferiority about her physical appearance when she responded to her mother regarding male companionship. "I'm crippled", said Laura. "Nonsense Laura, I've told you never, never says that word, why, you're not crippled!" reacted Amanda, her mother. "You just have a little defect-hardly noticeable..."

Notice Laura's response to a suggestion from her mother regarding romantic companionship. "I'm crippled," she says, obviously disparaging herself. She has very low self-esteem and is often self-conscious of herself, believing that the condition of her body makes her less desirable. In Laura's mind a woman's body needs to be perfect in order for a man to want her. This is what it is to be feminine, graceful and perfect.

Laura is so self-conscious of her body's condition that she has problems connecting with the outside community. The psychological tension between Laura and the community comes to a point of impact when Laura quits business school after her mother Amanda had paid a substantial amount of money for her to attend. Laura is so terrified of society's opinion of her that she gets sick on the first day of class and walks out for good. Therefore, we understand that Laura's illusionary response is perhaps based on society's expectations of the famine nature.

Seeking to bring a solution to Laura's psychological problem, as a result of her disability, a feminist critic would consider what ideas Laura must psychological disconnect from in order to have a selfhood that is satisfactory to her. For example, in a particular scene, Laura is alone with a potential suitor named Jim, who is not only a friend of her brother but a high school classmate in which she had strongly admired. The action rises to a point in which Jim accidentally knocks to the floor and breaks the horn of the glass unicorn corn, the most favorite piece in Laura's Glass Menagerie set.

In this incident, Laura appears to have come face to face with her own self-image. A critic would symbolically see Laura's acceptance of the broken horn of the unicorn as a renunciation of her negative image of herself. In the presence of Jim something seems to happen to Laura, perhaps from his encouraging words or maybe his romantic kiss made her realize that she was desirable after all. To Laura, The broken horn of the unicorn is as normal as all the other horses now .The visit from Jim, who was Laura's high school idol, gave Laura a sense of enlightenment and normality about herself. Being crippled is no longer an issue. It is normal. She is desirable. This is indeed a blessing -in disguise.

Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams, Author