We not only remember things but also carry the baggage of emotions that memories bring with them.

Memory as nostalgia: The play and its ending are a comment on the inevitable presence of nostalgia and the power of memory in our lives. Even when he is finally where he always wanted to be, he is unable to be happy because he is haunted by memories of the past and the guilt they bring. Tom is embittered by the memory of his father’s abandonment and after he leaves, his own. Amanda is plagued by the memories of her near-perfect youth which serve as nothing but a reminder of the stark difference between her past and present circumstances. Memory as a means of escape and unhappiness: Memory becomes a hindrance to the characters’ happiness and robs them of their ability to live in the present. The interior is therefore rather dim and poetic.” It omits some details others are exaggerated, according to the emotional value of the articles it touches, for memory is seated predominantly in the heart. “The scene is memory and is therefore nonrealistic. As Tom says in his opening monologue in Scene 1 Our memories are subject to time, our emotions and our perception of past events. In other words, what we see on stage is Tom’s version of Laura. Since the memory of a person or an event changes with time and is often influenced by emotions we, as an audience, can raise questions on how accurate Tom’s portrayal of Laura’s fragility is. Memory as an emotional lens: The audience gets to know about the characters and their lives through Tom’s memories. Let’s look at some different ways in which memory has been used by the author in the play. As discussed in Unit 1, The Glass Menagerie is a memory play. The use, nature, and function of memory is a dominant theme in The Glass Menagerie.

The glass menagerie full play