FREE ESSAY ON GLASS MENAGEIE

GLASS MENAGEIE

In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, the glass figurine of the unicorn plays an
inherently important role as a representation of Laura's self esteem. The collection of
glass figurines is used by Laura to escape from the dangers of the outside world. The
unicorn is the central piece to her collection and is important because it directly
symbolizes Laura. The unicorn represents Laura's obsession with her handicap and also
represents the uniqueness in her character. As the play develops, the fracture of the
unicorn's horn represents a change in Laura's perspective of self and also gives a reason
to why she parts with the figurine in the end. 
The unicorn is a mythological figure. Closely related to the horse, it is uniqueness
comes in the form of a long horn located on the center of its forehead. In Laura's
menagerie, it is unlike the other figures. In fact, Laura refers to the unicorn as being
"freakish." (109) Her characterization of the unicorn reflects how she feels about
herself. It is because of its uniqueness that Laura chose to identify with it. She
creates a world with her figurines in which the abnormal coexists with the normal. When
Jim, the gentleman caller, inquires about the unicorn being lonely, she replies, "He
stays on a shelf with some horses that don't have horns and all of them seem to get along
nicely together."(101) In her imaginary world no one judges her because of her limp and
it is that world she is capable of coping in. Laura's characterization of the figurines
hints at her inner desires to be able to deal with the outside world and become less
"freakish." Laura tells Jim, "[the figurines] all like a change of scenery once in a
while." (102) 
The delicacy of the glass unicorn reflects the fragility of Laura, emotionally and
physically. Laura describes the unicorn as being the most fragile out of the group,
indicating how she feels about herself in a world with normal people. Laura can be broken
both literally and figuratively as easily as glass. "If you breathe[on glass], it
breaks." (101) 
Laura suffers from an "inferiority complex," much like how Jim described. She feels
burdened with 
The fracture of the unicorn converted the figurine from "freakish" to normal. At this
point in the play, Laura is no longer retreating to her imaginary world. Her self-
confidence has risen because the man she desired for in high school is showing an
interest in her. In a stark contrast to an earlier reaction in the play when a figurine
was shattered, Laura reacted to the unicorn fracture almost nonchalantly. Earlier in the
play when Tom broke a figurine, Laura reacted as though the breaking mortally wounded
her. When the unicorn was fractured, Laura seemed to be relieved that the unicorn was no
longer freakish. Her interactions with Jim allowed herself to believe that she could be
normal. By believing that she could be normal, her true charm is seen and she no longer
appears withdrawn. 
The symbolism of the fractured unicorn shifts when Jim reveals to Laura his engagement to
another girl. The news of the engagement shatters Laura's self-esteem and forces her to
revert back to her imaginary world. The fractured unicorn no longer represents Laura's
intentions to become normal, but represents a new life Laura is not willing to deal with.
She can no longer relate to the normal unicorn because it is no longer freakish or
unique, as the reverted Laura is. She parts with the unicorn and gives it to Jim because
the unicorn now represents the ordinary, which is characteristic of Jim.