English

Regarding Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, at the end of Tom’s final speech he says, “Blow out your candles, Laura…” The following stage direction, “She blows the candles out,” concludes the play. Why does Tom say this? Why does she do it? Examine the reasons why Tom as a character asks her to do this, as well as the various symbolic reasons why Williams as an author concludes the play with this.