The Women’s Struggle for Autonomy in The Glass Menagerie and Extremities

The Women’s Struggle for Autonomy in The Glass Menagerie and Extremities

In Tennesse Williams’ The Glass Menagerie and William Mastrosimone’s Extremities, both plays portrayed the women’s struggle to maintain their autonomies. Williams created a character named Amanda, who was abandoned by her husband and brought up two children and struggled with the difficulties of life. The character of Mastrosimone’s Marjorie stood up to the rapist and made him confess his crime, thus protected her autonomy and brought out justice. Both characters were attempting to maintain their independence, but the outcomes were different because of their personalities and their methods of handling the situations.

Both William’s Amanda and Mastrosimone’s Marjorie were very strong and self-reliant women. In The Glass Menagerie Amanda was an extremely controlling mother. Her husband left the family and she was left to raise two children. The setting of the play was in the 1930s in the southern state. The challenge that a single mother faced at that time was much greater than today. However, she managed to endure the difficulties of life, taking care of her extremely shy daughter and determined son. In Extremeties Marjorie was an independent modern woman. She was an intelligent person who refused to let the rapist manipulate her and stood firm for justice. Both women stood firm even though they were confronted with extremely adversity. The continuous struggling to maintain their independence developed strong characters throughout both books.

However, these two women handled the situation differently because of their different social environments and personalities. Amanda was raised in the southern states where racial prejudice was prevalent. She was a member of D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution) and she was very proud of being a member because she would always put on her best clothes whenever she attended the meetings. The adversity of life made her turn to the past. She would always talk about her glorious past and how she received seventeen gentlemen callers on one particular Sunday afternoon. She told her children, “Among my callers were some of the most prominent young planters of the Mississippi Delta-planters and sons of planters!” (Meyer 1868) On one occasion when she arranged for her daughter to meet a gentleman, her demeanor was funny and sympathetic, but it reflected her attempt to dwell on the past glory. The reason for her tragedy was that she was attempting to maintain autonomy by focusing on the old lifestyle of the southern society.