Mr. Wingfield In The Glass Menagerie

Mr. Wingfield is the character in The Glass Menagerie who does not appear in the novel but has a significant impact on the meaning of the work. Mr. Wingfield, who is an employee for a telephone company, abandons his family because he “fell in love with long distances” that the telephone conveys into publics' perception. Mr. Wingfield’s abandonment of his family establishes the future of their life. Mr. Wingfield’s abandonment evidently leads to Tom’s abandonment of his mother, Amanda, and his sister, Laura; in addition, Mr. Wingfield’s desertion foreshadows Jim’s abandonment of Laura. Although Mr. Wingfield was not a protuberant character in the novel, his substantial existence has a noteworthy impact on the other characters and their actions

Wingfield’s absence from the play creates a major central theme, abandonment. For example, Jim’s abandonment of Laura fabricates the play’s intense climax; the Wingfield’s hope against faith that somehow he will remain with the Wingfields, though there is constantly the awareness that he cannot be with Laura. Tom, meanwhile, occupies the whole play in anxiety between his love for his mother and sister and his aspiration to chase his own potential, thus deserting his family. Tom sees his withdrawal as vital to the quest of exploration Only Amanda and Laura, who are dedicated to old-fashioned beliefs and ancient reminiscences, will seemingly never adopt the character of abandoner and are destined to be frequently abandoned. In addition, the fire escape in the apartment is symbolizes much more than a fire escape. Thomas Foster states, “The thing referred to is more likely not reducible to a single statement but will more probably involve a range of possible meanings and interpretations” (Foster 105). Tom habitually stands on the apartment’s fire escape, a literal and metaphoric impermanent relief from the limits of his day-to-day life. Tom smokes on the fire escape, eliminating himself from the symbolic domestic fires by igniting his own flare, which also signifies his longing to control his fate rather than be taken over by his family and his past. Tom’s common getaway to the fire escape foreshadows his ultimate withdrawal from the apartment. Through the theme of abandonment and the symbolism of the fire escape, Mr. Wingfield absence significantly impacts the family’s ultimate