"The poignancy of The Glass Menagerie derives principally from the characters of Amanda and Laura, whom Williams pictures as trapped in a conflict between reality and illusion- (Ritter 175). .
Laura's desire to make her mother happy caused her to live in the illusion of her mother's world. She did not understand what the "real world- was like, and was far too afraid of herself and her flaw to venture out and face other people. After being enrolled in typing school for months, Amanda discovers that Laura has not been attending class. Laura was so paranoid about going to class in front of other people that she became ill on the first day, and was too humiliated to go back and face them again. Instead of telling her mother of her humility, Laura pretended to attend, and wandered the city. She could not face the disappointment and constant nagging of her mother, so she kept the failure to herself.
Talk of a gentleman caller was common in the Wingfield home. Amanda is constantly speaking of her days of receiving the callers, and questions Laura about hers excessively. "How many do you suppose we're going to entertain this afternoon- (Ritter 183)? Laura continuously told her mother that she was not expecting any gentlemen, but Amanda would not take that for an answer. Relating her mother's stories to her own life cause Laura to assume that she is unpopular and plain. She clings to her mother's stories, knowing that she will never have her own. Finally the anticipation gets the best of Amanda, and she forces Tom to bring home a gentleman caller. When Laura heard of the gentleman caller coming to her home, the anxiety seemed to get the best of her. Amanda forces Laura to see this meeting as the most important event of her life. Once she realizes that the caller is her love from high school, her nervousness takes over. Amanda's primping and pushing cause Laura to be sick and completely overwhelmed.
