July is fiction month and this time, I’ve decided to give away one of my favourite plays. I picked up a copy of it years ago while browsing the theatre section at Chapters in Sudbury. I didn’t know anything about Tennesse Williams at the time and after reading this play, I wanted more… so I bought more and more and now I have a little collection of his plays in my library at home.
The reason why I chose The Glass Menagerie over his other plays is not only because it’s the first one I read but I think it’s one of his best. (It was a toss-up between Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire).
When I think of Tennesse Williams, I think simplicity (in a raw kind of way), I think emotion, I think intensity. He’s a master of imagery and symbolism. His endings tend to leave you with a little gasp or a deep sigh. But I wouldn’t say that his work is depressing.. he’s not dark like Chekhov! The characters in this particular play are the type that you’d want to have a cigarette with while waiting for a bus.. and then you’d get so wrapped up in their stories that you’d not want to get involved at all, or you’d want to be a part of their lives. You’d want to fix them. Maybe you’d want to carry some of their weight. But you definitely end up caring a great deal for them… because you can relate to them. We can all relate to them because we’ve all been dreamers, we’ve all tried to escape reality once in a while, and we’ve all tried to make some sense of the world we live in – sometimes in ways that were detrimental to us or to those we love.
I can’t describe this by using language that a theatre critic or student might use – I don’t know what kind of play this is, where it fits in genres or anything like that. But, I can tell you that the story has stayed with me for years. That when I pass little glass figurines in a store, I sigh and think of Laura (a character in the play who obsesses with glass figurines) because they’re not meaningless objects anymore – they’re hers. When I used to smoke, there were times when I’d lean on the railing on my balcony and think of the narrator, Tom… “In memory everything seems to happen to music.” And Amanda Wingfield, a mother with good intentions but too wrapped up in delusional optimism to really know what’s going on in the life of her kids.
AMANDA: Laura, where have you been going when you’ve gone on pretending that you were going to business college ?
LAURA: I’ve just been going out walking.
AMANDA: That’s not true.
LAURA: It is. I just went walking.
AMANDA: Walking? Walking? In winter? Deliberately courting pneumonia in that light coat? Where did you walk to, Laura?
LAURA: All sorts of places – mostly in the park.
AMANDA: Even after you’d started catching that cold?
LAURA: It was the lesser of two evils, Mother. [IMAGE: WINTER SCENE IN PARK.] I couldn’t go back up. I threw up -on the floor !
AMANDA: From half past seven till after five every day you mean to tell me you walked around in the park, because you wanted to make me think that you were still going to Rubicam’s Business College?
LAURA: It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. I went inside places to get warmed up.
AMANDA: Inside where?
LAURA: I went in the art museum and the bird-houses at the Zoo. I visited the penguins every day! Sometimes I did without lunch and went to the movies. Lately I’ve been spending most of my afternoons in the jewel-box, that big glass-house where they raise the tropical flowers.
AMANDA: You did all this to deceive me, just for deception? [LAURA looks down.] Why?
LAURA: Mother, when you’re disappointed, you get that awful suffering look on your face, like the picture of Jesus’ mother in the museum !
AMANDA: Hush !
LAURA: I couldn’t face it.
To enter the July book giveaway:
Simply leave a comment after this post. Any comment will do! If you’re not sure what to write, tell me a bit about your favourite play.
OR
Follow me on Twitter and send me a direct message saying ‘I want Glass Menagerie!’.
Deadline: July 31st, 2010 at 1:00pm EST.
The winner will be contacted via email shortly have the draw and the book will be sent to you in the mail. Good luck!
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18 Comments
Want!
You’re entered in the draw! (Btw, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, your blog is wonderful)
I’ll toss my hat into the ring, thanks!
Marvelous. You’re in the draw!
It’s funny that you mention Chekhov: did you know that he was Williams’ number one influence? He stated that directly on several occasions.
Also, have you read Sweet Bird of Youth? That one is flawed, yet fascinating.
Also, I think I would kill myself if I got stuck talking to Amanda Wingfield at a bus stop. That woman drives me mad.
Also, I already have a copy of this play, so let someone else have it
Haha, I had no idea. Thank goodness Williams didn’t let Chekhov influence him too much.
I do like Chekhov’s work, however. He’s kind of like Goya – skilled at painting dark images.. but you can only handle so much of it.
No, I have not read Sweet Bird of Youth – I’ll look it up. I have a collection of Williams’ short plays and I re-read them every year because I like them so much.
Haha, ah Amanda Wingfield.. she needs an island getaway or something. She’s one of those characters who seems crazy where she is but you get a feeling that if you throw her into a completely different environment, she’d let go of some of those crazy beliefs that she has. She might even take care of herself for a change. But yeah, if I was stuck with her at a bus stop, I’d call a cab.
i’ve been wanting to read a play in while,and this sounds like what im looking for…intense..emotions… in that raw kinda way, alors je tente ma chance…portes-toi bien
D, you’re in the draw.
My favorite play is Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. I don’t want to say too much, in case you have not read or seen it, but it is really interesting how Miller puts lots of flashbacks in the play. Sometimes it is hard to tell what has already happened and what is current. The character development of the lead is wonderful. Easy read- only around 70 pages, I believe.
Yes, I read that one! Thanks for sharing. You’re in the draw!
count me in
You’re in the draw, s.
One of my own favorite plays is Streetcar Named Desire.
Ah, good pick. Another Tennessee Williams play.
You’re in the draw.
I have also loved A Streetcar Named Desire, I also am a big fan of Oliver
jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com
Hey Jason, you’re entered in the draw! Funny because it was a toss-up for me to give away either A Streetcar Named Desire or The Glass Menagerie… I opted for the glass menagerie because it seems that fewer people have heard about it.
Although I really like plays, I’m a very big fan of pantomimes. Ever heard of them? They’re a sort of play-cross-musical-cross-comedy, usually a fairytale. The last one I saw was Cinderella, but I don’t get to see them very often – they don’t exist in the country I live in, which is rather annoying… It’s also getting embarrassing to go by myself – they’re really for small kids.
What country do you live in, Samantha? I’m not very familiar with pantomimes but now you’ve intrigued me enough to learn more about them. Haha, sometimes, the best plays and shows are meant for small kids – I go anyways.
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