In Tennesse Williams's The Glass Menagerie, Laura is
dominated by her mother, forced into taking a secretarial class which she quits without
telling her mother. Timid and lacking confidence, Laura retreats into the glass world
of her animal menagerie,for she is afraid of the world outside the apartment. She also
becomes very upset when Tom and their mother argue and, then, do not speak to each
other. Laura would like their lives to be suspended and merely continue as they did
when she and Tom were younger, for she fears the
future.
When her mother insists that Tom bring home "a
gentleman caller," Laura panics, but Jim, who was acquainted with her in high school,
quickly allays her fears. She feels almost normal in Jim's company; when the unicorn's
horn breaks, Laura gives the "normal" horse to Jim. Sadly, though, there is no future
with him for Laura since he already has a steady girlfriend. So, when Jim departs,
Laura does not dare look at her mother, instead crounching behind the vitrola to wind it
up. With her mother, Laura is trapped in illusion.
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