The Glass Menagerie is a memory play set in St. Louis in 1937. Its action is drawn from the memories of the narrator, Tom Wingfield, who is also a character in the play. He is an aspiring poet who toils in a shoe warehouse to support his mother, Amanda, and sister, Laura. Tom and Laura's father ran off years ago and, except for one postcard, has not been heard from since. Amanda, originally from a genteel Southern family, regales her children frequently with tales of her idyllic youth and the scores of suitors who once pursued her. She is disappointed that Laura, who is crippled and is painfully shy, does not attract any gentleman callers but instead focuses her attention on her glass animal collection. Amanda decides that Laura's last hope must lie in marriage. Tom, who loathes his warehouse job, finds escape in liquor, movies, and literature, much to his mother's chagrin. The long awaited gentleman caller does finally appear and hopes and expectations both mount and crash. Tennessee Williams’ story of a family on the brink of destruction.