History Characters / TheGlassMenagerie

* DeadpanSnarker: Several of his lines show his dry sense of humor, particularly his ([[BlatantLies intentionally, blatantly false]]) angry rant at Amanda about his [[TripleShifter double life]] as [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster criminal kingpin 'Killer' Wingfield]].

* TurnOutLikeHisFather: Pleads Tom not to make a rash decision and join the Merchant Navy, admitting that she and Laura would be lost without him. She's right of course, but Tom will realise that far too late.

* MoralityChain: Tom's love for Laura is the ''only'' thing keeping him from up and leaving St. Louis and his family behind for most of the play. [[spoiler: And in the end, even that isn't enough]].

* AuthorAvatar: The play is semi-autobiographical and Tom represents Tennessee Williams himself: the playwright's given first name ''was'' "Thomas", he also held a job he loathed in a shoe factory, and he also had to deal with an [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal abusive, alcoholic absentee]] father.

* OutDamnedSpot: [[spoiler:His whole motivation for telling the story is his guilt over abandoning his family.]]

* AuthorAvatar: The play is semi-autobiographical and Tom represents Tennessee Williams himself: the playwright's given first name ''was'' "Thomas" and he also held a job he loathed in a shoe factory.

A cheerful, polite young man and Tom’s OnlyFriend at the warehouse. He hasn’t attained the lofty heights of success he seemed destined for at high school, but remains optimistic and ''extremely'' [[PatrioticFervour patriotic]].

* PatrioticFervour: Unless it's all part of an act, he clearly '''loves''' America, describing its present state as "wonderful"... During TheGreatDepression.

* ShrinkingViolet: She's so shy that being in a ''typing class'' caused her to vomit, but this is {{Justified}} given the implications she has a form of social anxiety disorder.

* DeadpanSnarker: Several of his lines show his dry sense of humor, particularly his angry rant at Amanda about his ([[BlatantLies intentionally, blatantly false]]) [[TripleShifter double life]] as [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster criminal kingpin 'Killer' Wingfield]].

* CallingTheOldManOut: Angry {{Jerkass}} he may be, but he makes [[JerkassHasAPoint a good point]] about Amanda's obsession with the past causing her to become detached from reality.

Amanda’s [[ShrinkingViolet shy and delicate daughter]], who is actually older than Tom, although her [[TheIngenue childlike innocence]] means this is not immediately obvious. She lives a lonely existence in the family’s apartment, with her "[[TitleDrop glass menagerie]]" a collection of miniature animals she obsessively cleans and polishes.

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* AmbiguousDisorder: Laura's disorder is never named, but she may be suffering from anxiety disorder and/or mild schizophrenia. Her poor social skills and fixation on glass figurines could indicate some form of autism.

-> '''Laura Wingfield'''

* StrugglingSingleMother: Mr. Wingfield left long ago, leaving the near-penniless Amanda to raise Tom and Laura by herself, [[UpToEleven in the 1920s and 30s no less, when attitudes towards single moms would be far worse than they are now]].