The Glass Menagerie Symbolism

Another symbol Ibsen uses throughout the play is the macaroons as a symbol of women’s independence, to show how they longed for freedom from their husbands. The first time the macaroons are used as a symbol is in the beginning of the play when Torvald does not allow Nora to eat macaroons. It is shown how Nora tries to hide them from her husband when she first arrives at home. When Torvald asks when she arrived at home she says, “Just now. (Putting the macaroon bag in her pocket and wiping her mouth.) Do come in, Torvald, and see what I’ve bought” (Ibsen 44; Act 1). Torvald doesn’t allow Nora to eat macaroons, so Nora tries to hide them from him. In the beginning of the play, Nora is submissive to Torvald and tries to be what he sees as a perfect spouse, although she doesn’t get treated like a spouse should be treated. She is controlled by Torvald because in his eyes, a perfect spouse is a doll that he controls, which Nora tries to be, for example by hiding the macaroons so he doesn’t know that she disobeyed him. Nevertheless, Nora begins to eat the macaroons more overtly later on in the play. Nora’s first time

The symbol the author talked mainly about is the Glass Castle, it represented so much in this book and got them through many years especially for Jeanette it stand for hope and for the better though there father rex walls couldn't physically build the glass house. I really didn't think the kids really cared about the house the dad had in mind not only because they lost faith in the fact that the dad been saying that for far too long but because it always stand for something more family, love and represent what the family went through and pain they went through for the better life they have now living. This imaginary glass home was there all along they may not have seen it but it was right in front of them the whole time it was there family, as long as they were together there glass (huge, fancy, stone house) remained it was where ever they were together. The castle shows by using a physical object to represent an idea or emotion the power of family and love the strength of it can get you through any blocking or stopping things of life. We are like the glass huge, fancy, stone house we are delicate and breakable we break easily and time is very valuable/very dearly loved before we fall into pieces and slip but we fall together and together we are not alone we will pick up the pieces together and it won't matter how long it takes because we'll get through together because no one gets left behind.

It can be said that despite literal simplicity some objects or places have a much deeper metaphorical meaning to certain individuals. For Jeannette Walls, the Glass Castle is more than just the title of her memoir. To begin, Jeannette lived most of her childhood in poverty, running from town to town in order to avoid “federal agents” who are actually just bill collectors. Even so, the family dreamed of a much brighter future in a place called the Glass Castle. Jeannette’s father, Rex Walls, planned “A great big house he was going to build for us in the desert. It would have a glass ceiling and thick glass walls and even a glass staircase...solar cells on the top that would catch the sun's rays...even have its own water-purification system”

     From the beginning, the figure of the narrator shows that Williams' play will not follow the conventions of realistic theater. The narrator breaks the conceptual "fourth wall" of naturalistic drama by addressing the audience directly. Tom also tells us that he is going to give the audience truth disguised as illusion, making the audience conscious of the illusory quality of theater. By playing with the theme of memory and its distortions, Williams is free to use music, monologues, and projected images to haunting effect. Tom, as narrator, tells the audience that the gentleman caller is a real person‹more real, in many ways, than any other character‹but he also tells

Torvald berates Nora about her physical appearance, saying, "Has my little sweet tooth been indulging herself in town today by any chance? ..." (Act 1). Nora often sneaks macaroons, because she can not eat them in front of Torvald for fear of his disapproval. Torvald is very particular about Noras figure, as he wants her to stay small, dainty, and delicate. This is Ibsen showing the “role” of the male in that society. He has to always be in control, and for Torvald, his and Nora’s image are the most important things in the world, whether it was Nora’s figure or the fact that Nora forged her father’s signature to obtain the secret loan, which angers Torvald a great deal.

In A Doll’s House, specifically, Nora finds a small way to express her desires through the symbol of macaroons. The macaroons are included in the play in order to show the reader that Nora silently protests her husband’s control over her. She is aware that eating candy goes against her husband’s wishes, yet she does so as small gesture of defiance and independence. In addition to the macaroons, the idea that Nora lacks independence is seen through the dollhouse symbolism. Nora compares herself to a doll that both Torvald and her father have manipulated and played with to suit their desires.

In the book City of Glass by Cassandra Clare, the main character, Clary, travels to a place called Idris to save her mother. While this happens, her and her brother strive to hold in their feelings of love with each other as problems start stirring with their father who tries to take over the whole mythological world. Clare uses a powerful symbol, the Morgenstern ring, (a family ring that gets passed down from generation to generation), to symbolize different events and emotions among the characters in the book. As the text develops, the symbol does as well; over time it grows with different powerful meanings.

Later in the play, Nora’s spirit of indulgence advances to the stage that she is not afraid to ask Helen for “lots [of macaroons], just for once” for their banquet, and she does this in front of Helmer’s face. The lying about a small thing like macaroons foreshadows how she then becomes revealed as a character that lied about a major financial scandal that broke the law. Nora’s open rebellion by purchasing the macaroons was a very minor act in the start of Act 1, however her idea of freedom extends from eating sweets to freeing herself of familial obligations and going out “to see if [she] can make out who is right, the world or [herself]” (Ibsen). The macaroons were a method for Nora to escape from the miserable reality of living with Torvald, and this foreshadowed how she eventually would actually leave her world at home to escape this reality.

An important symbol in the Victorian era play is the macaroons. The macaroons may fulfil Nora’s sugar cravings but they also is a cause of her suppression. When Nora gets home after shopping for Christmas presents, Torvald begins to question her about stopping by at the confectioner’s as she has been in town all day.

Nora’s relationship with her father and Torvald has shaped her into the woman she is posing to be. She is under a mutual control being a shadow of what they want her to be. Many people see Nora as being the weakest link in this poem, considering her lack of ability to voice her opinion. Throughout the play, Torvald constantly uses little childish names when addressing Nora perhaps when he says “Is that my little lark twittering out there?” (Ibsen 1190). Nora’s mindset clearly begins to overlook the fact that Torvald may be picking at her in a way. Torvald is also seen to be picking at Nora for eating macaroons when he makes the statement “Surely my sweet tooth hasn’t been running riot in town today, has she?” (Ibsen 1192). This clearly states that Torvald’s opinion of macaroons is invalid for Nora, because he would not want her to become fat in possibly ruining his image. Nora’s childhood is the birth of all future relationships that grants control, which makes Nora feel as if she has no power in being an independent woman. Nora is seen as a little precious doll who is a valuable possession of her father and husband. She never feels like she has the courage to stand on her own and be a woman because all she knows is being under the control of someone else. The first aspect of Nora crossing into womanhood was symbolized by the

The macaroons Nora is eating at the beginning of Act 1 is emphatic to Nora’s rebellious nature and, also emphatic to the dominant nature of men in their society. Torvald said he didn’t want

The character of Nora goes through the dramatic transformation of a kind and loving housewife, to a desperate and bewildered woman, whom will ultimately leave her husband and everything she has known. Ibsen uses both the characters of Torvald and Nora to represent the tones and beliefs of 19th century society. By doing this, Ibsen effectively creates a dramatic argument that continues to this day; that of feminism.

Laura possesses a “fragile, unearthly prettiness which usually escapes attention” (Williams 1191), because it is translucent, and delicate, just like the unicorn. Perhaps part of this beauty is the delicacy that

The dialogue illustrates the complexity of her schemes to protect her debt. Ibsen 's use of exclamation marks also gives a sense of panic in Nora’s voice which further demonstrates how desperate Nora is to protect her image. These examples show how Ibsen incorporates cultural context to create Nora’s struggle for acceptance. She purposefully acts naive and obedient to Torvald, when in truth she has deviated far from the rules prescribed by society. Since fulfilling these rules often equates to acceptance, Nora by putting in an enormous amount of energy to achieve these guidelines, proves her desire to be accepted by society.

Nora is depicted as childlike in the first scene of the play by taking macaroons from her pocket and secretly eating one. As Nora speaks with her husband, he randomly asks her if she has eaten some macaroons today; Nora deceives him by vowing that she has not eaten any at all. This boldface deception is a prime example of how she appears childlike throughout the play. Nora continues to demonstrate her adolescent ways when she attempts to cover up another falsehood that she creates: “Not so loud. What if Torvald heard! He mustn’t, not for anything in the world. Nobody must know, Kristine. No one but you” (Ibsen 1734). A way in which she furthers the belief of her childlike characteristics is by confiding in her childhood friend instead of her husband about how she came to obtain the money for their trip to Italy. Torvald, along with other characters in the play, does not respect Nora as the adult she wishes to be acknowledged as. Nora even expresses to her childhood friend Kristine Linde that “You’re just like the others. You all think I’m