Essay About Laura Wingfield And Light Shines

The Glass Menagerie
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Laura Wingfield
The physically and emotionally crippled Laura is the only character in the
play who never does anything to hurt anyone else. Despite the weight of
her own problems, she displays a pure compassion–as with the tears she
sheds over Toms unhappiness, described by Amanda in Scene Four–
that stands in stark contrast to the selfishness and grudging sacrifices that
characterize the Wingfield household. Laura also has the fewest lines in
the play, which contributes to her aura of selflessness. Yet she is the axis
around which the plot turns, and the most prominent symbols–blue
roses, the glass unicorn, the entire glass menagerie–all in some sense
represent her. Laura is as rare and peculiar as a blue rose or a unicorn,
and she is as delicate as a glass figurine.
Other characters seem to assume that, like a piece of transparent glass,
which is colorless until light shines upon it, Laura can take on whatever
color they wish. Thus, Amanda both uses the contrast between herself
and Laura to emphasize the glamour of her own youth and to fuel her
hope of re-creating that youth through Laura. Tom and Jim both see
Laura as an exotic creature, completely