The Glass Menagerie Memory and the Past Quotes

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 #13

"No, dear, you go in front and study your typewriter chart. Or practice your shorthand a little. Stay fresh and pretty! - It's almost time for our gentlemen callers to start arriving. [She flounces girlishly toward the kitchenette] How many do you suppose we're going to entertain this afternoon?" (1.35, Amanda).

Amanda’s movements and body language strengthen the notion that she is living in her own past.

Quote #14

She has on one of those cheap or imitation velvety-looking cloth coats with imitation fur collar. Her hat is five or six years old, one of those dreadful cloche hats that were worn in the late Twenties, and she is clutching an enormous black patent leather pocketbook with nickel clasps and initials. This is her full-dress outfit, the one she usually wears to the D.A.R. (Scene Two, stage directions).

Amanda’s clothes strengthen the notion that she is living in her own past.

Quote #15

He tears the portieres open. The dining-room area is lit with a turgid smoky red glow. (Scene Three, stage directions).

Williams uses light to emphasize the subjective and memory nature of the play.