The importance of the father as a character manifests itself in the effects of his actions on the family as a unit, as well as on the individual members of the family. These icons represent the presence of the father in the lives of the family, and shows that he is still very much an integral part of their lives. Amanda still wears a bath robe that he left behind, possibly showing her inability to accept his disappearance. The victrola is a symbol to Laura, a connexion with her father the fact that she retreats to it instinctively at hard times shows that she still feels, or hopes to feel the protection of her father, reminding the reader once again of his presence in the house. The victrola is the sanctuary that Laura retreats to when nervous or stressed, For instance in scene two, while she is being chastised by her mother she ‘crosses to the victrola and winds it up.’ Her mother questions her on this and she remarks ‘Oh!’ and then ’returns to her seat.’ The use of the surprised sound and the stage directions after this suggest that it was a reflex action to move to the victrola. As the play is told in retrospective way, The picture is a constant reminder to Tom of his future that might have been different.Īnother reminder of the father’s presence is the victrola music player that he left behind. This picture represents something further for Tom – it represents his future how he will leave the family in a similar fashion to his father, almost ascending to take his place. The fact that he is smiling and bathed in light represents a happier time to the family, and the fact that they keep it on display suggests that they could still have illusions that he might come back or that they feel that they should pretend that he is still there with them smiling.
The picture of the smiling father resembles the past for the Wingfield family – simultaneously representing a time of past happiness, whilst also being a constant reminder of the family’s disappointment and feelings of abandonment. He is gallantly smiling, ineluctably smiling as if to say ‘I will be smiling forever’” and while the interior of the house is described as dim, the fathers portrait is bathed in light. It is described in the stage instructions as (the face of) “a very handsome young man in a doughboys First World War cap. The most important piece of imagery on the set is the picture of the father which stays on the mantelpiece, facing the audience throughout the play. The iconography that represents the father in the play serves as a constant reminder of his absence to the reader, but more importantly to the characters themselves. Tom’s opening and closing comments frame the action of the play, underpinning his importance to the audience as a main character. He is referred to in almost every scene, maintains a visual presence on stage at all times (in the form of the picture) and is mentioned once again in Tom’s closing monologue. After describing him as “a telephone man who fell in love with long distances” (p14) and a mysterious postcard that he sent to the family saying “hello – goodbye” he states “I think the rest of the play will explain itself.” This indicates, right from the start, that the absence of the father has a great impact on the family. Tom describes their father and a little about his escape from the family. The Wingfields’ father is mentioned at the beginning of the play, in Tom’s opening monologue. It could be argued that his departure was the catalyst for the events of the play, affecting both the financial security and physiological well being of all the family members. Each of these characters, Tom, Laura and Amanda, has strong claims to the title of protagonist, but what hangs over the play is the spectre of the Wingfields’ absent father.
In the play ‘The Glass Menagerie’ the audience is presented with three obvious main characters.
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