The Symbolism of the Glass Unicorn: Revealing and Unveiling Laura’s Strength


In the Glass Menagerie, Williams utilizes powerful symbolism to illustrate Laura’s peculiarity and eventual fate. Laura, who suffers emotionally from a physical disability of one leg being shorter than the other, desperately seeks retreat from reality by escaping to her blissful world of glass animals. Significantly her favorite figure in the collection, the glass unicorn is a powerful representation of her peculiarity and abnormality. When Jim violently breaks the unicorn’s horn, the unicorn becomes like the other horses, acting as a smaller-scale version of Laura’s eventually shattering jolt into normalcy. This incident can be interpreted as a detriment to any normalcy that Laura previously possessed, as Jim takes advantage of her fragility and destroys her uniqueness. Although, it seems more likely that the shattering of the glass animal reveals and endows Laura with the strength to grow into an emotionally healthy person, by attempting to live in the real world and choosing to leave behind the world of the glass menagerie.
The glass unicorn in Laura’s collection functions as a powerfully symbolic embodiment of her peculiarity and singularity. Among the collection of glass animals, the ornament provides a retreat, void of tension, when she can’t handle the pressures of reality. Laura explains to Jim, “He stays on a shelf with some horses that don’t have horns and all of them seem to get along nicely together” (Williams 1096). Similar to her glass ornaments, Laura’s fragility is illustrated in her conversation with Jim when she says, "Glass is something that you have to take good care of" (Williams 1094). Furthermore, she subsequently reiterates to Jim, "Oh, be careful—if you breathe, it breaks!" (Williams 1095). Furthermore, in the most realistic moment of Laura’s life, Jim “breaks” the glass unicorn and, symbolically, Laura as well. Representative of thrusting normalcy upon Laura, Jim bumps into the unicorn on the table, causing the horn to break off. Laura observes, “Now it is just like all the other horses” (Williams 1097). By giving the hornless unicorn to Jim as a “souvenir”, Laura significantly exhibits the extent of her affection for him, and illustrates the suitability that the unicorn now only has for Jim.
Through the shattering of the unicorn, it can be inferred that Laura’s transformation is a painful experience that destroys any normalcy that previously existed in her. As she presents the unicorn to Jim as a gift, once he has “broken” both of them, Laura is symbolically removing herself from the company of the glass figurines. The broken horn can be perceived as the turning point that eliminates the escape that the figurines previously offered Laura, possibly leaving her in her own helplessness and loneliness. Laura’s fragility can be understood as her flaw; Jim takes advantage of her delicacy, by apologetically breaking part of her. Laura’s trusting vulnerability is exemplified when she exclaims, in handing Jim the unicorn, “Go on, I trust you with him!” (Williams 1095). The violence of the severance exemplifies Laura’s inability to enter normalcy without somehow shattering. The Broken unicorn, thus, may become an embodiment of Laura’s shattered dreams. In addition, the horn is the only unique characteristic that sets the unicorn apart from the other horses. After they dance, Jim says to Laura, “Has anyone ever told you that you were pretty? Well, you are! In a very different way from anyone else. And all the nicer because of the difference, too” (Williams 1098). Thus, the unicorn’s broken horn can signify a loss of uniqueness, destroying that which made her beautiful. Jim’s attempt to confer confidence upon her can be perceived as failure, as he leaves her broken. Finally, it may be interpreted that handing the broken unicorn over to Jim may be giving herself up to him, although all she says is, “A-souvenir” (Williams 1100). The neutrality in many of the lines may leave room for the reader to interpret the text as such, yet the text is clearly not neutral.
One way to interpret the shattering of the unicorn is to perceive it as a painful experience that leaves Laura broken. However, it seems more likely that the incident reveals Laura’s hidden strength. Although the figurines offered Laura a retreat, it seems more probable that this world she continuously escaped to did her harm. In pointing out that unicorns are “extinct in the modern world” (Williams 1096), Jim reveals Laura’s loneliness in her difference from the other horses. Furthermore, her inability to face reality deters her from becoming normal, and becomes the basis by which her existence is ill-adapted in the world in which she lives.

Laura’s reaction to the unicorn’s broken horn reveals her strength, as she regards it as a positive event, saying, “I’ll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less-freakish! Now he will feel more at home with the other horses, the ones that don’t have horns” (Williams 1097-1098). Laura’s giving the unicorn to Jim, therefore, represents her ability to overcome her emotional disabilities and feel more “at home” with other normal girls. Although she must somehow be shattered to make the conversion, her true strength is revealed through her delicate nature: symbolically, glass represents fragility, but it can also be of great strength. Also, her “freakish” traits and peculiarities seem to be more constraining than exceptional, as she is desperately struggling to find her place in society, and failing to do so.  
In handing over the broken unicorn, Laura symbolically accepts that she must endure the prospect of pain to become an average, content person, saying, “Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise”, (Williams 1097). Her ability to take the risk of the pain and step out of her comfort zone to experience heartbreak and adventure in this new world of love proves that she is deceptively stronger than she realizes. Jim validates the risks she takes when he exclaims, "Love is something that—changes the whole world Laura!" (Williams 1100). As a result, Laura is the only character who is able to grow into an emotionally healthy person, by choosing to leave behind the world of the glass menagerie and attempt to live in the real world.
Williams utilizes powerful symbolism in the Glass Menagerie, to illustrate Laura’s peculiarity and eventual fate. Laura escapes to her blissful world of glass animals, as she desperately yearns for an escape from reality. When Jim violently breaks the unicorn’s horn, the unicorn acts as a smaller-scale version of Laura’s eventually shattering jolt into normalcy, as it becomes just like the other horses. As Jim takes advantage of her fragility and destroys her uniqueness, this incident can be interpreted as a detriment to any normalcy that Laura possessed. Although, it seems more likely that the shattering of the glass animal reveals and endows Laura with the strength to grow into an emotionally healthy person, as she willingly takes the risk of pain to leave the world of glass behind and overcomes her fears of being normal.

© 2008 by Secret Life of Daydreams. All rights reserved.

Works Cited

Tennessee, Williams. “The Glass Menagerie.” Literary Theory, A Very Short Introduction. Culler, Jonathan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 1045-1104.

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