Alistair Jones Ralph Mathews ENGL 101 November 8, 2013 “The Glass Menagerie”: The Absence of Power of Women “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams is an anti feminist work due to William’s portrayal of Amanda and Laura as powerless protagonists whose lives are controlled solely by men. Feminist literature expands on the ideals of women being dependent, intelligent, and possessed of inner beauty, none of which is demonstrated by Laura or Amanda in their present conditions. Amanda, as a young woman, is a southern belle who comes from a world in which women are utterly dependent on men; now she finds her self-left alone to survive when her husband vanished. Tom who is the only male presence in the play, is trapped in a situation which to him the only way out is to follow the path of his father; Tom’s work at the shoe factory and search for a suitor for Laura is the only way the family manages to survive. Amanda is overly obsessive over her children’s success and it can be argued that she is the one that drives the family a part; in order to do so Amanda spends an incredible amount of money to send Laura to Business school for the reason that she will be able to start out her life dependently without a “gentleman caller”.Laura's and mostly Amanda’s only desire becomes receiving a "gentleman caller" just as her mother in her young adult days. In order to find Laura a
