Women and the American Dream: Subversion and Self-Discovery in Tennessee Williams's the Glass Menagerie: A Psychoanalytic Feminism Study.

This article presents a psychoanalytic feminist analysis of Tennessee Williams’s 1944 play *The Glass Menagerie*, focusing on the experiences of women and the critique of the American Dream through the characters Amanda Wingfield, Laura, Tom, and Jim O'Connor. It explores how Amanda’s nostalgia and control, Laura’s disability and social isolation, and Tom’s desire for freedom reflect the psychological and societal constraints imposed by patriarchal norms and traditional gender roles. Drawing on Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalytic theories alongside feminist critiques, the study highlights themes of repression, identity reconstruction, and subversion of gender expectations, emphasizing women’s struggles with societal marginalization and the limitations of the American Dream. The analysis underscores the complex mother-daughter dynamics, the impact of trauma and codependency, and the tension between illusion and reality, ultimately framing the play as a critique of patriarchal society with potential for self-discovery and transformation.