payment page
Amanda’s husband and Tom and Laura’s father, Mr. Wingfield left his family long before the play begins. Although he never physically appears, Mr. Wingfield’s presence permeates the entire production through his large, smiling photograph. As the play is set in Tom’s memory, the large size of the portrait, while certainly for the audience’s benefit, also suggests how large Mr. Wingfield looms in Tom’s mind. Some of this outsize focus likely comes from resentment and even jealousy. Mr. Wingfield’s abandonment of the family has trapped Tom in his current predicament as breadwinner. In addition, Williams describes Mr. Wingfield’s smile in the portrait as suggesting, “I will be smiling forever,” as if mocking Tom that he gets to be happy and free while Tom feels chained and miserable. However, the looming portrait also draws parallels between Tom and Mr. Wingfield, as Tom, like Mr. Wingfield, abandons Amanda and Laura. Amanda constantly warns Tom against becoming like his father, primarily referring to abusing alcohol but also implicitly in a plea not to run away. Thus, Mr. Wingfield’s ever-present absence is also a condemnation of Tom, a reminder of the suffering he’s caused and the ways he did become like his father.
