Amanda’s Memories and Plans

The Glass Menagerie

This flow traces Amanda’s reliance on an idealized past as she tries to secure a future for her children.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Seventeen Callers Seventeen Callers from "The Glass Menagerie". Seventeen Callers A Rehearsed Past Amanda retells the story of receiving seventeen callers in Blue Mountain.

Seventeen Callers from "The Glass Menagerie". Seventeen Callers A Rehearsed Past Amanda retells the story of receiving seventeen callers in Blue Mountain.

Seventeen Callers A Rehearsed Past Amanda retells the story of receiving seventeen callers in Blue Mountain. Her detailed memories turn a vanished social world into an animated performance in the cramped apartment. Present-Day Contrast The story entertains her family but also exposes the distance between her former prospects and their current circumstances. Laura’s lack of callers makes Amanda’s nostalgia a measure of anxiety as well as pride.

The College Discovery The College Discovery from "The Glass Menagerie". The College Discovery A Collapsed Plan Amanda learns that Laura left business college after only a few days.

The College Discovery from "The Glass Menagerie". The College Discovery A Collapsed Plan Amanda learns that Laura left business college after only a few days.

The College Discovery A Collapsed Plan Amanda learns that Laura left business college after only a few days. She had expected the course to provide her daughter with a practical future and feels its failure as the loss of her own plans. Fear Beneath Reproach Her questions and broken charts express more than anger. She fears that an unmarried daughter without work will become economically dependent and socially isolated.

A Campaign for a Caller A Campaign for a Caller from "The Glass Menagerie". A Campaign for a Caller Money and Matchmaking Amanda sells magazine subscriptions and presses Tom to find a suitable young man at the warehouse.

A Campaign for a Caller from "The Glass Menagerie". A Campaign for a Caller Money and Matchmaking Amanda sells magazine subscriptions and presses Tom to find a suitable young man at the warehouse.

A Campaign for a Caller Money and Matchmaking Amanda sells magazine subscriptions and presses Tom to find a suitable young man at the warehouse. She turns household worry into organized effort, treating a caller as a possible route to Laura’s security. Hope as Pressure The plan gives Amanda something to do, but it places emotional weight on Laura and Tom. Her optimism cannot make Laura more comfortable with strangers or guarantee the future she imagines.

The Revival of Youth The Revival of Youth from "The Glass Menagerie". The Revival of Youth Costume and Memory Amanda brings out an old dress and flowers, retelling her youth among dances, invitations, and jonquils.

The Revival of Youth from "The Glass Menagerie". The Revival of Youth Costume and Memory Amanda brings out an old dress and flowers, retelling her youth among dances, invitations, and jonquils.

The Revival of Youth Costume and Memory Amanda brings out an old dress and flowers, retelling her youth among dances, invitations, and jonquils. For a moment, the apartment becomes a stage on which her younger self seems present again. A Performance for Laura She hopes to make the evening attractive to Jim and meaningful for her daughter. The effort is loving, but it also imposes Amanda’s remembered model of feminine charm on Laura’s very different temperament.

The Caller’s Revelation The Caller’s Revelation from "The Glass Menagerie". The Caller’s Revelation A Sudden Reversal Amanda discovers that Jim is engaged to Betty, information Tom did not know.

The Caller’s Revelation from "The Glass Menagerie". The Caller’s Revelation A Sudden Reversal Amanda discovers that Jim is engaged to Betty, information Tom did not know.

The Caller’s Revelation A Sudden Reversal Amanda discovers that Jim is engaged to Betty, information Tom did not know. The hoped-for introduction cannot become the beginning of the future Amanda has been arranging. Grief Turns to Anger She accuses Tom of making the family look foolish and calls herself a deserted mother. Her outburst reveals how much of her hope had been invested in this single evening.

During the opening family dinner

After Laura has concealed her absences

Late winter and early spring

As Amanda prepares for Jim’s visit

Near the end of Jim’s visit