Mother – Son Relations in 'The Glass Menagerie' and the 'Death of a Salesman'

'The Glass Menagerie' (1944) by Tennessee Williams and the 'Death of a Salesman' (1949) by Arthur Miller are considered to be two of most important plays of twentieth century American theatre. Written in the same decade, both of the plays delve into two different families and relationship between its members. The mother-son relationship in these two families is interesting to study, because it shares many similarities and differences. Though there are many gaps, both of the plays involve similar role of mothers toward sons of similar nature.

In 'The Glass Menagerie', Amanda Wingfield is the mother, and Tom Wingfiled is her son. The dramatist describes Amanda as "a little woman of great, but confused vitality… She is not paranoiac, but her life is paranoia."  Her age is not given in the play. She has already lost her husband, thus is solely responsible for family and children. The son Tom is of poetic nature, and works in a warehouse. He is dissatisfied with his current life and seeks changes. He also acts as a narrator of the play. Besides Tom, she has a daughter named Laura.

Linda Loman is the mother figure in the 'Death of a Salesman'. She is wife of the salesman, Willy Loman. She has two sons: Biff (aged 34) and Happy (aged 32). The playwright has not mentioned about her age. Without definitive independent role, she acts as a peacemaker in her family – mediates between the father Willy and sons Biff and Happy.  Biff and Happy most of the times appear together in the play and they share on values and beliefs too. They have dissatisfactions with their lives, and desire for some changes. 

Both Amanda and Linda are very much concerned with their responsibilities toward family and children. As Amanda has already lost her husband, she has no any option but to be a stronger parent. She cares her children too much: Tom and Laura; she is seen suggesting them what to do and what not time and again.  In comparison, Linda has husband, but he is less efficient and less interested in household issues; he is a kind of 'living dead'. Thus it requires Linda to be as caring and active as Amanda in her family. When Willy dies at the end of the play, Linda's situation as a mother is exactly similar to Amanda in 'The Glass Menagerie'. 

Both have attainable and unattainable expectations from their sons. They try to reinforce their expectations into the children so that they will fulfill it and make them happy. However, what is interesting is that both mothers are directly manipulated by expectations of their husbands. Linda expects something from Biff and Happy only when she needs to make Willy happy for his sons. Independently she doesn't have any expectation that is different from expectations from her husband. Though Amanda's husband is absent on stage, his influence can still be reflected into expectations of his wife. In fact, this is the reason why the big photograph of the father is hanged on the wall. Tom, introducing characters as a narrator, considers the larger-than-life photograph to be "the fifth character" of the play. In this sense, though both mothers are seen to be in close contacts with their children; they are more mediums to connect their husbands with their children, than independent mothers themselves.

In 'The Glass Menagerie', Amanda asks Tom to bring a gentleman caller for Laura. In the beginning, Tom is also obedient to her mother and wants to make her happy, thus invites Jim O'Connor as a gentleman caller. But when Jim is found to be already engaged with another girl, Amanda scolds Tom for catching a wrong man. For her, Tom then becomes a man, who does "live in a dream and manufacture illusions". In response, Tom also feels too much tensed under the mother's expectations and decides to leave home. This is the main piece of the play where we can portray mother-son relationship in the Wingfield family.

Even earlier, there are frequent disagreements. Amanda never likes Tom's habits of smoking and movie-going. She always complains about it: "You smoke too much. A pack a day at fifteen cents a pack." and "Not to the movies, every night to the movies! I don't believe you always go to the movies!" She asks for Tom's promise not to be a drunkard. At another time, Tom expresses that her mother is not happy with his plans about future that he would leave home. Yet at another point of time, Tom scolds his mother so fiercely that it resulted into no talk between them for many days. Amanda becomes so upset that she never talks to Tom until he apologizes.

In 'Death of a Salesman', Linda acts much like in the same way. As said earlier, she is much like just a mediator between Willy and Happy and Biff. She always talks only about positive qualities of the sons – strengths, achievements and dreams – with Willy, but not weaknesses and failures, even if he is all the time possessed with pessimism about them. Linda also has many worries for her sons, and asks them to do this and not do that like Amanda. She wants her sons to be moral and honest. When she finds that Biff stole a ball, she suggests "he'd better give back that football… it's not nice." She also doesn't like Biff's rough nature that "all the mothers are afraid of him." She is upset when Biff flunks math exam and asks Willy to talk to the teacher to settle the problem. In very similar role like Amanda, she makes Biff promise to stay at home and make the father happy. Whenever there is dispute between father and sons, she speaks up for the sons despite the fact that Willy time and again threatens her not to interrupt.  Until the end of the play, she tries to bring her sons in good relation to their father.  

Linda is so happy when there is talk about her sons' success in career, even if there is no possibility or guarantee of its success in real life. She promises "a big breakfast" if Biff gets Oliver's job back. Her relation with the sons initially seems stronger and better than Amanda. It can be justified when she has a long conversation with the sons about the father's feelings toward them. Her sons seem helpful to her as well. Biff, for example, takes the rubber tube off from the place where Willy can find it and try suicide. In fact, Linda wanted it to be removed, but couldn't do it herself to avoid Willy's notice that she knows the suicidal attempts. And, finally Biff makes it happen as wished by Linda.

She scolds her sons only once throughout the play when they leave their father alone in the restaurant; but that is so strong that it brings shift in their relationships. She asks, "Don't you care whether he lives or dies?" It also can't be taken negatively because she wants her sons to be responsible toward family.

One interesting example of expectation that both mothers share with their sons is request to comb hair. In 'The Glass Menagerie', Amanda in Scene 5 asks Tom, "Comb your hair. You look so pretty when your hair is combed!" In the similar tone, Linda during the phone call by Biff says, "You got your comb? That's fine." This fact also represents other similar expectations from both of the mothers.

Both 'The Glass Menagerie' and the 'Death of a Salesman' end with the similar situation – the mother-son tension reaches the climax, and they get separated.  In 'The Glass Menagerie', Tom can not resist pressure from Amanda thus leaves the home. In 'Death of a Salesman', Biff (and Happy too) already have a plan to leave home. On this very issue, Biff argues with Willy at the end of Act II, which ultimately leads to suicide of Willy and emotional separation between Linda and Biff. After Willy committed suicide, Biff has physically joined the funeral and mourning, but he seems emotionally absent. In both of the plays, what happens next regarding the mother-son relationship is absolutely uncertain.

This is not argued that there is zero disparity between mother-son relationships of these two plays. Of course, there are. Linda-Biff-Happy relationship is far happier than Amanda-Tom relationship. The Linda-Biff-Happy bond is destroyed only at the end, otherwise it is always connected. On the other hand, the Amanda-Tom bond never has true emotional connections except in some exceptional situations. Amanda in 'The Glass Menagerie' is stronger than Linda in 'Death of a Salesman'. Similarly, Biff in 'Death of a Salesman' is stronger than Tom in 'The Glass Menagerie'. However there is limited number of differences. And, from a closer view there lies similar relationships in two different families.

Both 'The Glass Menagerie' and 'Death of a Salesman' are family tragedies. They explore similar kinds of family relationships. In particular, mother-son relationship is a shared element of the play. Though between two mother-son relationships one appears happy and another sad in the beginning, both end with the tension. Thus, both of the plays suggest similar nature of mother-son relationship.