Author: Shivani Pawar

Abstract: Tennessee Williams’ play The Glass Menagerie (1944) shows a family stuck between family duties and personal dreams. Today, many people face the same struggle: choosing between helping their family and finding their own happiness. The rapidly shifting social fabric, marked by individualism and the decline of collective identity resonate even more deeply with the play’s themes. In our life also, we often find ourselves playing certain roles or types. This play (Tennessee Williams’ ‘The Glass Menagerie’) also shows us their truth: each character is not just an individual, but also a “type” that represents bigger ideas. Moreover, this paper looks at how the play’s characters show this shift from “we” (family, society and togetherness) to “me” (individual needs and dreams) also how it exemplify the modern struggle between duty and self-assertion.

Keywords: dream, family, glass menagerie, individualism, society.

Article Info: Received: 05 Aug 2025; Received in revised form: 02 Sep 2025; Accepted: 06 Sep 2025; Available online: 10 Sep 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.105.11