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Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
The Glass Menagerie takes place in St. Louis, Missouri during the 1930s. As Williams's own hometown, the setting of St. Louis adds to several other autobiographical elements of the play (e.g., reflections of Williams's sister and mother in Laura and Amanda or the protagonist's interest in literature). The action of the play takes place entirely within the Wingfields' apartment, a shabby and small abode that is only accessible via fire escape.
As a memory play that is narrated by its protagonist, Tom, The Glass Menagerie complicates the audience's perception of reality. Since all memories are subjective and potentially flawed, Williams affords himself greater freedom in set design that interrupts the perception that what the play presents is reality. For example, Williams includes in the text directions for screen projections with phrases that allude to key aspects of each scene. While the play itself criticizes illusion as a means of escape, its own set is something of an illusion. Rather than being contradictory, however, Williams's set design (especially in tandem with the play's autobiographical elements) complicates his stance on illusion. The Glass Menagerie is not the type of illusion that provides escape, but instead draws the audience closer to Williams's artistic message.
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