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Definition of Imagery
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines... read full definition
Scene 3
Explanation and Analysis—The Homemaker's Companion:
To make some extra money for the family, Amanda begins conducting telephone campaigns to get subscribers “The Homemaker’s Companion” magazine. In the following passage from Scene 3, Williams utilizes imagery and a simile to draw a comparison between Amanda and the women she calls to solicit:
She conducted a vigorous campaign on the telephone, roping in subscribers to one of those magazines for matrons called The Homemaker’s Companion, the type of journal that features the serialized sublimations of ladies of letters who think in terms of delicate cuplike breasts, slim, tapering waists, rich, creamy thighs, eyes like wood smoke in autumn, fingers that soothe and caress like strains of music, bodies as powerful as Etruscan sculpture.
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.
Related Themes:
Scene 6
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Piece of Glass:
In Scene 6, the Wingfields prepare for the arrival of their gentleman caller, Jim. Amanda dresses Laura in a soft dress, which is described in the following passage with imagery and a simile:
The dress is colored and designed by memory. The arrangement of Laura’s hair is changed; it is softer and more becoming. A fragile, unearthly prettiness has come out in Laura: she is like a piece of translucent glass touched by light, given a momentary radiance, not actual, not lasting.
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.
Related Themes:
