History YMMV / TheGlassMenagerie

** Is Jim rally engaged to be married, or is this just a [[LyingToProtectYourFeelings white lie]] that he told Laura due to his lack of romantic interest in her? The fact that he never mentioned engagement or even a girlfriend to Tom is strange, though you can't really blame him for doing something like this given how awkward his dinner invitation turned out to be.

** The idea that Tom is gay and unable to deal with it in his oppressive home situation. And naturally, he's attracted to Jim, due to Tom being an Author Avatar for Tennessee Williams. The 2014 Broadway staging takes this interpretation. (Plus, the director, John Tiffany, and Tom's actor, Zachary Quinto, are both openly gay.)

* BilingualBonus: On the screen that is projected on the back of the stage (optional) one of the first words that are flashed up is "Ou sont les neiges d'antan?" Meaning, "Where are the snows of yesteryear?" this refers to an old and classic French poem mourning the loss of the great beauties of the world.

* TheWoobie: Laura. She never hurts anyone else, and all life does is knock her down.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: [[spoiler:When Laura's favorite glass piece -- a unicorn, that longtime symbol of purity and rarity -- that she showed to Jim breaks. Even more so because it breaks off its horn: "Now it's just like all the other horses."]]

** Amanda. Yes, she's an overbearing ControlFreak who [[MyBelovedSmother obsesses over every detail of her children's lives]] and is hopelessly lost in her own past, but she's also [[StrugglingSingleMother had to raise two kids on her own while near-broke]] in the 1920s and 30s, and genuinely wants to prevent Laura and Tom from repeating her mistakes. Best illustrated when she begs Tom to stay with the family after working out that he's about to follow in his father's footsteps and abandon them.

* TearJerker: When Laura's showing Jim her glass unicorn, she's so happy that someone's finally listening to her and caring what she says. [[spoiler:And then it breaks, {{Foreshadowing}} Jim's rejection of her.]]

** This applies to Tom as well: you really can't blame him for wanting to leave his awful job and controlling mother behind to travel the world, the issue is that said awful job is the only thing keeping a roof over his family's heads... And he leaves anyway.

* 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.

* GeniusBonus: On the screen that is projected on the back of the stage (optional) one of the first words that are flashed up is "Ou sont les neiges d'antan?" Meaning, "Where are the snows of yesteryear?" this refers to an old and classic French poem mourning the loss of the great beauties of the world.

* TearJerker: When Laura's showing Jim her glass unicorn, she's so happy -- like she's just so happy someone's listening to her and caring what she says. [[spoiler:And then it breaks.]]

* JerkassWoobie: Amanda. Yes, she's an overbearing ControlFreak who [[MyBelovedSmother obsesses over every detail of her children's lives]] and is hopelessly lost in her own past, but she's also [[StrugglingSingleMother had to raise two kids on her own while near-broke]] in the 1920s and 30s, and genuinely wants to prevent Laura and Tom from repeating her mistakes. Best illustrated when she begs Tom to stay with the family after working out that he's about to follow in his father's footsteps and abandon them.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: According to spark notes, Tom was attracted to Laura, and felt shameful about it. The reason he tried to prevent her from working was that he wanted her all to himself. This shows up in the movie.
** And, of course, the idea that Tom is gay and unable to deal with it in his oppressive home situation. And naturally, he's attracted to Jim. The 2014 Broadway staging takes this interpretation. (Plus, the director, John Tiffany, and Tom's actor, Zachary Quinto, are both openly gay.)

*** Tom probably has social anxiety as well, just to a much lesser extent than Laura. In fact, this is a far better (and more likely) explanation of Tom's behavior than an incestuous infatuation with Laura: Tom is reluctant to help Laura is because he would have to confront his own anxieties. Given Amanda's delusions about how the world works, it's no wonder she raised kids with poor social skills.

* GeniusBonus - on the screen that is projected on the back of the stage (optional) one of the first words that are flashed up is "Ou sont les neiges d'antan?" Meaning, "Where are the snows of yesteryear?" this refers to an old and classic French poem mourning the loss of the great beauties of the world.
* TearJerker - When Laura's showing Jim her glass unicorn, she's so happy -- like she's just so happy someone's listening to her and caring what she says. [[spoiler:And then it breaks.]]
* TheWoobie - Laura. She never hurts anyone else, and all life does is knock her down.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: [[spoiler:When Laura's favorite glass piece -- a unicorn, that longtime symbol of purity and rarity -- that she showed to Jim breaks. Even more so because it breaks off its horn: "Now it's just like all the other horses".]]

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: Tom's Opium Den speech.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation - According to spark notes, Tom was attracted to Laura, and felt shameful about it. The reason he tried to prevent her from working was that he wanted her all to himself. This shows up in the movie.

** Jim could be a genuine, well-adjusted NiceGuy who happens to fall in with a dysfunctional family, or he could be an Amanda-in-the-making, a popularity obsessed grinner whose best days are behind him and who will happily adopt any illusions to maintain the contrary.

* CrowningMomentOfFunny- Tom's Opium Den speech.

* TearJerker - When Laura's showing Jim her glass unicorn, she's so happy - like she's just so happy someone's listening to her and caring what she says. [[spoiler:And then it breaks.]]

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: [[spoiler: When Laura's favorite glass piece - a unicorn, that longtime symbol of purity and rarity - that she showed to Jim breaks. Even more so because it breaks off its horn: "Now it's just like all the other horses".]]

** And, of course, the idea that Tom is gay and unable to deal with it in his oppressive home situation. And he's attracted to Jim. Naturally.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: [[spoiler: When Laura's favorite glass piece - a unicorn - that she showed to Jim breaks. Even more so because it breaks off its horn: "Now it's just like all the other horses".]]

* CrowningMomentOfFunny- Tom's Opium Den speech. Especally because it's aimed at his BelovedSmother.

* TearJerker - When Laura's showing Jim her glass unicorn, she's so happy - like she's just so happy someone's listening to her and caring what she says. [spoiler:And then it breaks.]

** Jim could be a genuine, well-adjusted NiceGuy who happens to fall into a dysfunctional family, or he could be an Amanda-in-the-making, a popularity obsessed grinner whose best days are behind him and who will happily adopt any illusions to maintain that idea.

** Jim could be a genuine, well-adjusted NiceGuy...

** Moreover, some people have estimated that Laura may have some sort of anxiety disorder, notably social anxiety