The Glass Menagerie: Similes 5 key examples

There are two similes at work in this passage. The first compares the image of the gentleman caller to “some archetype of the universal unconscious.” An archetype is not unlike an illusion in that it is merely an imaginative figure that resides in the mind. Thus, Tom portrays Amanda’s reliance on this image as the “hope” for their family as foolish and unrealistic; he condemns how his family will find greater solace in illusion rather than reality. Hosting and courting gentleman callers in the way Amanda imagines is perhaps outdated and less effective than it was in the past; this is especially evident as Amanda cites her own girlhood as the primary reference for her “calculations” about Laura’s future. The past, then, is another form of illusion that Amanda cannot let go of.

The second simile compares Amanda’s hope to “a sentence passed upon” the family, solidifying Tom’s criticism of her methods. Rather than propelling the family toward the reality of the future, Amanda’s plan holds the family captive and obsessed with an idea that will ultimately fail them. Ultimately, these similes work to further establish the play’s theme that illusion, whether in the past or in an ineffectual archetype, can hold people from improving their lives for the reality of the future.

This list of images—delicate breasts, "tapering waists," "creamy thighs"—outlines beauty standards that women with means are encouraged to care about by publications like “The Homemaker’s Companion.” Women of wealthy families are able to think in terms of beauty and appearance rather than face the harsh material realities of poverty like Amanda and her family have to. The fact that Amanda is selling subscriptions to these magazines, essentially selling illusions, adds complexity to her character; Amanda is not only a victim of illusion but also knows precisely how to manipulate illusion for personal gain. In this case, she knows how to sell the illusion of beauty standards to other women via magazine subscriptions, and this detail contributes to the play’s investigation of illusion and reality.

This passage also alludes to the sculptures of the Etruscan people, who lived from roughly 900 BC to 27 BC in an area of Ancient Italy. Because relatively little written work has survived from the Etruscan civilization, the culture's sculptures have taken on special significance, resembling the artistry found in Ancient Greece (though Etruscan sculpture is unique in and of itself). By using a simile to compare the women Amanda solicits to Etruscan sculptures, then, Williams imbues them with a sense of worldliness and importance.

The imagery here is unique because it's not all that tangible—Williams calls on both tactile and visual imagery by noting that a "fragile, unearthly prettiness has come out in Laura," but it's unclear how, exactly, her beauty is "fragile," and the idea of "unearthly prettiness" is similarly intangible. The ambiguity in this regard leaves some room for interpretation by directors and wardrobe departments when the play is staged.

It's notable that this scene is recreated from Tom’s remembrance of the night, so it is “colored and designed” by memory. The dress may also be "colored" by memory in the sense that Amanda has structured this night to be a reflection of her own past. Whatever the reason, the image of Laura’s dress is “not actual, not lasting” precisely because it is “designed by memory” and, therefore, fleeting.

What's more, the simile comparing Laura to a "piece of translucent glass" characterizes her as fragile, possibly due to how her disability has affected her life. Laura has relied on her glass menagerie to avoid the real world so much that she, too, has become one of the glass figures. Ultimately, this passage solidifies the key themes of memory and illusion within the play.

Laura compares the "clumping" of her prosthetic leg to “thunder,” while Jim denies having noticed it at all. This stark contrast between their memories reflects how Laura perceives her disability more severely than others do. In her mind, her prosthetic leg is as noticeable as a clap of thunder, implying that Laura perceives her disability as a fatal and perhaps irredeemable flaw. This belief perhaps hints at why Laura is so anxious and insecure that she remains transfixed by her glass menagerie collection rather than the real world.

Laura’s ultimate flaw, then, is the belief that her disability has doomed her, rather than the disability itself. This belief aligns with illusion as a theme of the play—the inability to see past one’s own illusions of the world can lead to tragedy and pain. Tom, as the play's narrator, is affected by the memories of his family in a similar manner. 

Tom notes that the various cities he visits alone fall around him “like dead leaves.” These dead leaves are beautiful and vibrant with color, but dead nonetheless. Despite the freedom that he gained by leaving home, Tom still remains moored to the memories of his mother and sister—this is, after all, the conceit of the play. Thus, the cities Tom visits are flashy, colorful, and exciting, but also lifeless, as he continues to remember and despair over a past he cannot forget.

The dead leaves may also represent Tom himself. Having been “torn away from the branches” of the tree from which they were born, these dead leaves are free to move about. Tom finds himself in the same situation—he has left his family (his roots) to be swept up into a different world. This image of freedom, however, is marred by the fact that the leaves are dead. Both Tom and the leaves have lost something—home, family, a sense of security, perhaps—in exchange for their freedom. Ultimately, Williams uses this simile to question the costs of forging one’s own path.