Candle Light Glass Menagerie

The Power of Light A Candle light is the most primitive of lights, but it serves a different purpose than illuminating a room in The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams. Williams uses the contrast between light and darkness to symbolize and emphasize the powerful moments that occur in the play. Although Williams uses these mechanics, the candle light of course has deeper meaning within the context of the story. Being the weakest of lights, the candle light is easily extinguished, but that small, weak light has some form of hope against the overbearing world.

With Laura being as fragile, he candle symbolizes her hopes and dreams that are which snuffed out from society. Throughout the play, Williams also uses candle light imagery to describe Laura and her emotions. The candle light represents hope and how it is lost, but the character who demonstrates this most is Laura. Light, in any form, brings some form of happiness to people. Laura demonstrates her happiness when she shares a tender moment with Jim. Being reclusive and removing herself from society, Laura is unable to interact with people, but only on certain circumstances when “light” illuminates through her.

This “light” that is being referred to is the inner hope that Laura has. She desperately wants to guard this hope though, in fear of it being extinguished. This is very apparent when Laura says, “Oh be careful – if you breathe, it breaks! ” (Williams 1281). Laura is referring to her glass unicorn, which also represents her, but any form of power like a breath could possibly break the unicorn which refers to her own candle light of hope. Laura desires Jim and hopes that his feelings for her remain true.

As Jim continues to enlighten Laura, she announces, “l trust you with him! Hold him over the light, he oves the light! You see how the light shines through him? ” (Williams 1281) Laura’s hope is continuing to grow as she suggests Jim to take hold of her unicorn. With the unicorn representing her, and the light illuminating through the unicorn, Laura has officially given herself and her hope into Jim. After he admits that he is to be married, the hope that is inside Laura is extinguished.

At the end of the play, Tom speaks solely to his sister, and tells her to “Blow out [her] candles” (Williams 1289). Tom means that there is no hope left for Laura, and she will be stuck with herself for the est of her life. Wanting to find new things in life, Tom has decided to leave, and realizes that with him leaving Laura has no chance to find another “gentleman caller” and so her lights of hope are extinguished. The author uses light and darkness to symbolize and to emphasize the dramatic moments of the play.

The desperation and highly charged emotions in this play are linked to the symbolism of the light getting dim or going dark Just like the status of the unstable Wingfields. The candles are a way for the audience to understand that soon all wlll go aarK. Easlly Dlown out, tne candles prov10e a very temporary moment of light, when Laura shares a tender moment with Jim, before her hopes and dreams are extinguished. There are several ways of looking at the candles. First, they establish a more muted tone – you might even call it romantic.

That less harsh light perhaps allows Laura to be more open with Jim; it gives her courage. That might lead to an interpretation that the candles symbolize hope. Hope that Laura might be able to connect with Jim, hope that Amanda’s dream of a Gentleman Caller providing a uture for Laura, hope that if Laura is taken care of, Tom will be able to strike out on his own and leave the shoe warehouse, etc. It makes Tom’s final line more heart- breaking – “blow out your candles, Laura. There is ultimately no hope for this socially and physically (at least in her mind) handicapped young woman. There is no place in our society for such a misfit. the last scene of the play, Tom tells Laura to blow our her candles, and here the candles symbolizes Laura and her familys hope. This can be seen by how it makes contrast with the world lit by lightning, and how he author uses candlelight to describe Laura. First of all, the candlelight stands in contrast to a world lit by lightning in Tom’s final words.