The Glass Menagerie is a memory play, and its action is drawn from the memories of the narrator, Tom Wingfield. Tom is a character in the play, which is set in St. Louis in 1937. He is an aspiring poet who toils in a shoe warehouse to support his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura. Mr. Wingfield, Tom and Laura's father, ran off years ago and, except for one postcard, has not been heard from since. Amanda, originally a Southern belle and the darling of her small town's social scene, frequently entertains her children with tales of her eventful youth and the scores of suitors who once pursued her. Amanda, viewed from one angle, might appear to be an oppressive, selfish monster of a mother, yet from another she seems deeply caring. Laura is a frightened and terribly shy girl, with unbelievably weak nerves. She wears a brace on one leg and rarely leaves the apartment of her own will. …
