The Glass Menagerie

Laura Wingfield is very different from any other girl, she is a 32 year old that still lives with her mother, is not married and has no children. Laura has a physical defect, a limp.  The physical and emotional stress has made Laura live in a world of her own, a world she created.  Laura is the only character within the play that never does anything to hurt others, she displays pure compassion and honesty.  In The Glass Menagerie, Laura Wingfield can be best described as shy, lazy, and modest.

​The first trait of Laura Wingfield is shyness.  Laura lives in a world of her own, a world of little glass ornaments and plays old phonograph records.  An example of Laura shyness would be when Jim O’Connor, her high school crush comes in for dinner.  Laura tells her mother that she will not open the door and will not stay for dinner, however her mother results in finally convincing  her to open the door. When Laura opens the door and O’Connor shakes her hand he notices that her hands are very cold, this possibly being a sign of shyness.  Laura is so nervous that she cannot even attend business school without becoming sick.  "I couldn’t go back.  I threw up on the floor.”  Laura is definitely sensitive in a way that at the slightest social encounter she freaks out.  She does not like being around other people other than her family.  “And everyone was seated before I came in.  I had to walk in front of all those people.  My seat was in the back row.  I had to go clumping all the way up the aisle with everyone watching.”  This suggests  Laura's extreme shyness and also the limping demonstrates how delicate she is.  Amanda, Laura’s mother attempts to get her involved with different people and takes her to a young people's league at a church but Laura speaks to no one  and nobody spoke to her.  When Laura sits on the couch and Jim sits beside her for company, she sits up nervously.  Laura can hardly speak because of the strain of being alone with a stranger.  Although she has feelings for Jim, Laura is unable to enjoy his company because of her shyness, she uses her shyness to avoid reality.  Laura also uses her glass animals as an escape, the glass ornaments represent Laura's fragility, Laura is fragile and delicate as is her glass figurine.

​The second trait of Laura Wingfield is lazy.  Laura in a way is lazy, she does not do much and everything she does is half way done.  Laura does not go to school and did not want to finish either, she started a business class and only went for couple of weeks and later dropped out.  Laura does not work, she stays home all day cleaning her glass collection and listens to records.  Amanda begins to notice how lazy Laura is when she says “I put her in Business College-a dismal failure! Laura was Frightened so it made her sick at the stomach.  Now all she does is fool with those pieces of glass and play those worn-out records.  What kind of life is that for a girl to lead?”  Even Amanda "Laura's mother" admits that her daughter does not do anything.  When Jim O’Connor asks Laura how she spends her time, she responds by saying she does not do alot  “I don't do anything much.  Oh please, don't think I sit around doing nothing!  My glass collection takes up a good deal of time.  Glass is something you have to take good care of.”  emphasizing Laura's  lazyness all she does  is clean her glass collection and uses her limp as an excuse.

​The third trait of Laura Wingfield is diffident.  Laura has a lack of confidence, she is very distinct  from the others around her and she knows it.  She is very different like the unicorn and it shows, Laura is very unsocial and unwilling to do anything that’s going to harm or make her feel uncomfortable. It is not until Jim O’Connor comes to dinner that Laura has confidence, she is willing to open up with Jim.  Laura transforms into a beautiful new girl, Jim made Laura feel secure and built up her confidence.  Jim even tells Laura that there is nothing wrong with being unique.  “I wish you were my sister. I'd teach you confidence in yourself.  The different people are not like other people, but being different is nothing to be ashamed of." Other examples of traits, Jim O’Connor sits on the floor and invites Laura to sit down; she does but sits far away from him.  Jim asks why she sits so far away that he cannot see her.  Laura also refuses to go back to school because she throws up, yes what she did was embarrassing but that is no excuse not to go back to school. Laura later begins to think that being out of her world is not as bad after all, after Laura dances with Jim she feels part of reality like everyone else.

​Laura Wingfield learns that she is capable of forgetting her physical limp.  Laura responds to Jim because he sees that she is different, Jim does not see her disability he sees her beauty.  Jim is able to push Laura to do things she would never do for example, asking for his autograph and to dance.  When Jim arrives Laura starts to bloom out of her shyness, she opens up revealing what is truly inside of her. She is willing to accept the outside world into her own.