Tom Wingfield’s character in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie is eager to break away from from his mundane and dismal life. He has dreams of becoming a poet and seeks adventure. The fire escape, the movies, and the coffin “trick” are all references to the escape that Tom longs for.
The fire escape is literally and figuratively an escape. Tom goes out to the fire escape to smoke and find peace from his mother’s constant nagging. In the fifth scene, Tom describes the Paradise Dance Hall that was across the alley from his apartment. He passionately illustrates the music that flows from the open doors and windows of the dance hall. “This was the compensation for lives that passed like mine, without any change or adventure” (Scene V, pg. 441). It is evident that Tom longs for anyplace but where he is and being on the fire escape gives him peace, if just for a moment.
Another way that Tom finds escape is by going to the movies. His mother is skeptical that he is really enjoying the theater. She believes that he is actually out drinking and getting in trouble. Either way, Tom finds enjoyment when he is away from the depressing atmosphere that hovers in his home. His mother’s irritating way of correcting him and watching his sister suffer with depression is too much for him to take. After working long hours at a job that he despises, Tom craves escape, and he receives a small piece of freedom by going to the movies every night. I go to the movies because I like adventure. Adventure is something I don’t have much of at work, so I go to the movies” (Scene IV, pg. 438).
After a night of drinking, Tom comes home to tell his sister, Laura, about the headliner at a stage show. Malvolio the Magician performed amazing tricks. Tom was most impressed with the coffin trick. We nailed him into a coffin and he got out of the coffin without removing one nail. There is a trick that would come in handy for me–get me out of this 2 by 4 situation!” (Scene IV, pg. 436). Obviously, the coffin is a metaphor for Tom’s life. Tom Wingfield feels as though he is trapped inside a coffin. “You know it doesn’t take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin, Laura. But who in hell ever got himself out without removing one nail?” This line is also relevant to Tom’s father leaving his family. His father managed to get himself out of the coffin by leaving his wife and children behind. Tom seems to envy his father for leaving the dreary situation at home, and he tells Jim at the end of the play of his plans to leave his home. “I’m like my father. The bastard son of a bastard! See how he grins? And he’s been absent going on sixteen years now” (Scene VI, pg. 451).
Tom Wingfield’s character longs for freedom throughout the entire play. His mother, his job, and his worry for his sister’s well being all become too much for him to bear. To no one’s surprise, Tom eventually makes his escape from St. Louis. Throughout the play, he found escape by going outside on the fire escape, attending the movies or bars of the night, and envying the magician for escaping from the nailed up coffin.
