Menagerie - Scene 6

The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams

"AMANDA.  All pretty girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be...This is the prettiest you will ever be!" (Williams, 1263). In many ways here, Laura is a symbol for life. Often, life is perceived as the pretty trap that men expect it to be and it will never be more appealing than an illusion. The climax of scene 6 occurs when Laura's unicorn, an animal of fantasy. Laura and the unicorn are synonymous in the way that Jim broke what was unique about them both: their connection to fantasy. If Laura is a symbol for life and the unicorn is a symbol of Laura, then the unicorn can also be viewed as a symbol for life. When the specialness, the fantasy part of life is broken, reality seeps in and wakes those who built their lives on the assumption that fantasy could continue forever. But of course, fantasy only lasts as long as our surroundings. Jim brought the inside to Amanda, Tom, and Laura, ultimately driving Tom to leave. The final monologue admits the reason for the play - Tom is still haunted by the unreality of his past life. We are introduced to Laura's new role in his fantasy of life: "Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be," (Williams, 1289). She is now the ghost of a former fantasy now playing into his current illusion.