Amanda Wingfield is the mother in Tennessee Williams’s play, “The Glass Menagerie.” Her character is intriguing as her individual qualities and character flaws makes it hard for one to determine whether Amanda is a good mother.
Is she or is she not responsible for her husband leaving? Does she truly love her children or is she motivated for selfish reasons? The way Amanda expresses herself with her actions and tone gives the audience the impression that she makes a nuisance of herself. Even with her irritable flaws, Amanda wishes the best for her children and wants them to succeed.
Amanda’s husband deserted the Wingfield family which left them in desolation. Her son, Tom was pressured to take over as the “man” of the household while Amanda was obligated to handle the family’s financial income and tend to her disabled daughter Laura.
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Instead of feeling sorry for herself in her husband’s abandonment, she was determined to dedicate herself to her children. In her character analysis of Amanda, Shelia Odak writes, “Amanda is a woman caught between the past and the present. On the one hand, she is well aware that her family’s situation is dire.
Little money is coming in, they live in a run-down apartment, and both of her children are drifting, though in different ways…” Being a mother and the primary care taker during the great depression was arduous. She had to mother two children and maintain a sustainable household.
With her husband leaving she was forced to raise her children as a single parent. However, after facing these hardships, she was able to overcome adversity. In the play she says, “…I just now happened to notice in my little red book that your subscription …had just ran out! I knew that you wouldn’t want to miss out…” Near the end of scene three, Amanda had tried to desperately to make a sales pitch by selling magazine subscriptions to friends.
She uses her side jobs to try to help their family’s financial predicament. By putting her reputation on the line, she tries with maximum effort to help this family. Despite the calamity, Amanda was always intended to be altruistic with her actions.
Amanda has also proven that she is a good mother because of the relationship she has with her daughter Laura. She gives this impression to the reader because of her motive to assist Laura in achieving a better life. She does this by planning out her life with the intent to make sure the Laura is able to support herself in the future.
Amanda tries numerous times to help Laura including a fund to take care of her college education. Amanda pushes Laura to go to school and study business. Laura then has a form of anxiety and does not wish to return to school.
When Amanda discovers out that Laura dropped out of college, she is concerned for her future. Near the send of scene 2 she says, “…We won’t have a business career-we’ve given that up because of your nervous digestion!…I know so well what becomes of unmarried women who aren’t prepared to occupy a position.
I’ve seen such pitiful cases…” Amanda is agitated because of Laura’s decision. She wanted Laura to go to school so that she would be able to graduate and use her education to her fullest potential. Distraught from the news, Amanda decides that there is only one option left for Laura. Amanda begins to look for a gentleman caller.
She believes that if Laura gets married then she will be taken care of. Amanda does not accept Laura for who she is. Instead of dealing with the fact that Laura has some sort of physiological problem, she brushes it off with hopes that finding a husband will secure Laura’s future. Despite this, Amanda genuinely believes that a gentleman caller would be the best for Laura.
Even though it is not right for Amanda to assume that all of Laura’s problems would be fixed if she got married, she still cares for her well-being. The sole purpose of Amanda looking for a gentleman caller because she wants to make sure Laura will be taken care of. As stated in the character analysis published on cliff notes, it states, “Even if she fails to acknowledge Laura’s defects, she is realist enough to understand Laura’s difficult position… But Amanda is full of other paradoxes.
She wants only the best for her children, but then she fails to understand that what they most want is quite different from what she wants for them.” Laura’s beneficent mother honestly want what is best for her well-being. She goes through the trouble to save money for college and go through the preparations to find a gentleman caller. Amanda is a good mother because overall, she has Laura’s best interests at heart.
The character Amanda Wingfield in the play “The Glass Menagerie.” by Tennessee Williams’s is very complex. She is a well-intentioned mother who cares for her family. However, her main character flaw is that she is an emotional burden on the family. Amanda has always cared for Laura and made sure her future was set. Amanda SOMETHING TOM with her irritating flaws, overall, Amanda wishes the best for her children. She proves this through her actions by overcoming her hardships.
The reader can see that throughout the play, Amanda is good-hearted. One can tell from the interactions and tone she uses with Tom. Amanda has made sure that Tom maintain a job.
Though this may be for the sake of the family, having this job security has allowed Tom to be a productive member to society while providing a steady income. Tom, however, does not appreciate this and tells Amanda that he wants to quit his job.
