How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Scene.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a big long monologue.
Quote #21
Jim, just like Amanda, spends excessive time discussing both the glory days of his past and his dreams for the future.
Just as Amanda, Laura is so haunted by her own past that it debilitates her living in the present.
Quote #22
Laura is still huddled upon the sofa, her feet drawn under her, her head resting on a pale blue pillow, her eyes wide and mysteriously watchful. The new floor lamp with its shade of rose-colored silk gives a soft, becoming light to her face, bringing out the fragile, unearthly prettiness which usually escapes attention. (Scene Seven, stage directions.)
Williams uses light to emphasize the subjective and memory nature of the play.
Quote #23
"I—don’t suppose—you remember me—at all?"
"You know I have an idea I’ve seen you before. I had that idea soon as you opened the door. It seemed almost like I was about to remember your name. But the name I started to call you—wasn’t a name? And so I stopped myself before I said it." (7.75, 7.76, Laura and Jim),
Although to a lesser degree than her mother, Laura, too, lives in a piece of the past, recalling her feelings for Jim.
Quote #24
"Blue Roses! My gosh, yes—Blue Roses! That’s what I had on my tongue when you opened the door! Isn’t it funny what tricks memory plays?" (7.78, Jim).
Jim’s line about memory playing tricks has a greater context in the play as a whole – raising the question as to what tricks Tom’s memory might be playing on us.
Quote #25
"You modern young people are so much more serious-minded than my generation. I was so gay as a girl!"
"You haven’ changed, Mrs. Wingfield."
"Tonight I’m rejuvenated! The gaiety of the occasion, Mr. O’Connor." (7.276-7.278, Amanda and Jim).
The presence of only a single gentleman caller sent Amanda back to her role as a Southern Belle.
Quote #26
"No, Ma’am, not work but—Betty!"
[He crosses deliberately to pick up his hat. The band at the Paradise Dance Hall goes into a tender waltz.]
"Betty? Betty? Who’s—Betty?"
[There is an ominous cracking sound in the sky.] (7.289, 7.290, Jim and Amanda, Scene Seven stage directions).
Williams uses obvious and dramatic effects in this play on the grounds that memory can dramatize and alter reality. Interestingly enough, just like the characters we are watching, we become ensconced in an alternate reality.
Quote #27
"Then all at once my sister touches my shoulder. I turn around and look into her eyes. Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be! I reach for a cigarette, I cross the street, I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, I speak to the nearest stranger—anything that can blow your candles out! For nowadays the world is lit by lightning! Blow out your candles, Laura—and so, goodbye… (7.321, Tom).
Although he escapes his family in body, Tom’s memory is forever stuck in his past, just as Amanda’s.