Women’s Futures and Dependence

The Glass Menagerie

This flow explores the competing futures imagined for Laura and the economic and social pressures that shape them.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Amanda’s Warning About Spinsterhood

Amanda’s Warning About Spinsterhood A Feared Future Amanda describes unmarried women without careers as dependent on relatives and deprived of dignity. Her images make Laura’s lack of training feel like a looming crisis. Fear Becomes Pressure The warning is intended to motivate, but it heightens the sense that Laura has few acceptable choices. Amanda’s concern reflects social expectations as much as her individual anxiety.

A Career Abandoned A Career Abandoned from "The Glass Menagerie". A Career Abandoned A Failed Route to Independence Laura cannot continue at the typing course and has concealed her absences.

A Career Abandoned from "The Glass Menagerie". A Career Abandoned A Failed Route to Independence Laura cannot continue at the typing course and has concealed her absences.

A Career Abandoned A Failed Route to Independence Laura cannot continue at the typing course and has concealed her absences. The failure closes the immediate path Amanda had chosen for her. The Family’s Dilemma Laura’s difficulty is not simply lack of ambition; the school environment overwhelms her. The family must confront a future for which neither conventional work nor easy social confidence seems available.

Marriage as a Provision Marriage as a Provision from "The Glass Menagerie". Marriage as a Provision A Substitute Plan Amanda argues that Tom cannot leave until Laura has someone to care for her.

Marriage as a Provision from "The Glass Menagerie". Marriage as a Provision A Substitute Plan Amanda argues that Tom cannot leave until Laura has someone to care for her.

Marriage as a Provision A Substitute Plan Amanda argues that Tom cannot leave until Laura has someone to care for her. She imagines marriage as the route by which Laura might gain a home and independence. A Constrained Choice The plan depends on a caller whose suitability and feelings remain unknown. Its promise exposes how few options the family believes are available to Laura.

The Evening’s Costumes The Evening’s Costumes from "The Glass Menagerie". The Evening’s Costumes Making Laura Presentable Amanda dresses Laura in a special outfit and even uses padding to alter her appearance.

The Evening’s Costumes from "The Glass Menagerie". The Evening’s Costumes Making Laura Presentable Amanda dresses Laura in a special outfit and even uses padding to alter her appearance.

The Evening’s Costumes Making Laura Presentable Amanda dresses Laura in a special outfit and even uses padding to alter her appearance. She treats the visit as an occasion on which Laura must meet expectations of attractiveness. Care Mixed with Pressure Amanda wants her daughter to be welcomed, but her preparations make Laura feel that she is being displayed. The evening’s hope therefore carries the burden of performance before the guest appears.

The Marriage Hope Collapses The Marriage Hope Collapses from "The Glass Menagerie". The Marriage Hope Collapses A Future Denied Jim’s planned marriage to Betty ends Amanda’s imagined possibility that the visit might secure Laura’s future.

The Marriage Hope Collapses from "The Glass Menagerie". The Marriage Hope Collapses A Future Denied Jim’s planned marriage to Betty ends Amanda’s imagined possibility that the visit might secure Laura’s future.

The Marriage Hope Collapses A Future Denied Jim’s planned marriage to Betty ends Amanda’s imagined possibility that the visit might secure Laura’s future. Nothing about the evening has created a new source of income or support. Dependence Remains The family returns to its original uncertainty, now accompanied by Laura’s disappointment. The collapse reveals how much weight Amanda placed on a social convention that could not guarantee real security.

After Laura confesses the college failure

After Laura’s business college withdrawal is revealed

During Amanda and Tom’s planning conversation

Immediately before Jim arrives

After Jim discloses his engagement