The ending of the play was different from what I expected. I didn't expect the play to end abruptly with Tom going down the fire escape for the last time, demonstrating Tom inevitably following his father's footsteps and Amanda's fear coming true. I was expecting Laura to shatter into pieces in ultimate despair after Jim tells her he's engaged, but they ended on somewhat good terms. I was expecting a greater climax, but then again, this is not a typical play.
As Tom already told us from the very beginning, it is a "memory play" that focuses on emotions rather than the plot itself. Since Tom wasn't actually present in most of the scene, it certainly questions the reliability of the narrator. What definitely caught my attention was how Laura's last unicorn glass with its horn attached ultimately shattered as she dances with Jim, turning the mythical into an ordinary horse like the rest of its companions. In hindsight, I wonder why previously Tom also broke Laura's glass and the same event repeats but now with Jim as the unicorn glass breaker. Is this supposed to establish a connection between both events? I find it interesting how when Tom breaks the glass, he is speechless and unable to apologize, whereas Jim promptly apologizes once he realizes Laura's beloved glass creature was broken and seemed genuinely apologetic. However, in scene seven it becomes clearer why Laura is wholly devoted to taking care of her glass menagerie. She describes the glass creatures as like her closest companions, almost like living creatures with human emotions. The unicorn glass, defined by it's single horn, represents abnormalities that isolate the unicorn from the rest of the horses on the same shelf, just like how Laura perceived her crippled leg to alienate her from the rest of society. She is both physically and mentally handicapped by her crippled leg, which was clearly revealed in the intimate conversation between Jim and Laura.
Speaking of Jim, he wasn't as one-dimensional of a character I had expected him to be. He obviously perceives himself as superior and at times the "all-knower" because he thinks he has the answers to everything as he always finishes Laura's sentences for her. But at the same time he's not exactly hypocritical like the upper-class Victorians in IOBE because he is actively aware of his high self-esteem and in some degree of level understands Laura's low self esteem and lack of agency. He also mentioned that he wished Laura was his sister, which is really awkward because he also decides to dance and kiss her, which also shows this manipulative side of him, even if it's for the right intentions.
Last but not least, the stage directions at the very end were put together like a movie set, showing both the present and the future happening at the same time. The audience observes the Amanda comforting Laura as Tom leaves the house which is then followed by Tom speaking to the audience in the future. Well technically the play began from the future, which is actually Tom's present, therefore the events in the play involving the Gentleman Caller can also be perceived as Tom recalling the past. This use of multiple tenses makes the play fragmented, but at the same time the stage directions, screen device, music, and lighting make all of the events in the play flow together with ease, ultimately creating fluidity within the structure of the play. The breaking of the fourth wall is what I think allows for a greater fluidity and deeper connection with Tom as the narrator and his intentions. Near the end of Tom's ending monologue, he says "Oh Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be." (97) I think this shows how writing this play was a way for him to express his guilt or leaving his sister and how his past, just like in LDJIN, ultimately haunts him wherever he goes.
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