the glass menagerie 玻璃动物园

•History of the Unicorn Symbol
• The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard and cloven hooves. First mentioned by the ancient Greeks, it became the most important imaginary animal of the Middle Ages and Renaissance when it was commonly described as an extremely wild woodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace, which could only be captured by a virgin. Unicorn horns are said to be harder than diamonds and to be able to neutralize poisons.
2. Why do you think she doesn't get upset when its horn is broken off?
• Because she take it as ―a blessing in disguise‖. In that situation, with Jim’s encourage and attention, she feels she and Jim fall in love with each other, she believes she will overlook her cripple and act as a common people.
• Fourth, broken unicorn symbolizes the Laura’s broken love and her imaginary world.
• Jim: ……What are you – doing that for? You want me to have him? Laura? [ She nods ] what for? • Laura: a – souvenir…（p492）
¹ unicorn symbolizes Laura the ² horn of the unicorn symbolizes Laura’s cripple while the the horse symbolizes the common people. ³ unicorn symbolizes Laura’s anxiety to integrate into the common people.
3.Why does she ultimately give the broken unicorn to Jim?
• At least, at that moment she feels she is a common people she hopes Jim would remember her as a common people and the memory of that moment is also a souvenir for her. • ―a – souvenir‖ to commemorate her broken love.
• Third, the unicorn symbolizes Laura’s anxiety to integrate into common people.
• Laura: now it just like all the other horses.(p488) • Laura: horn! It doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.(p488) • Laura: [ smiling ]: I’ll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less—freakish! [ they both laugh. ] now he will feel more at home with the other horses…(p489)
• Second, the horn of the unicorn symbolizes Laura’s cripple while the horse symbolizes the common people.
• Jim: Poor little fellow, he must feel sort of lonesome. • Laura: Well, if he does he doesn’t complain about it. He stays on a shelf with some horses that don’t have horns and all of them seem to get along nicely together.(p487)
•Symbolic Meanings of ―unicorn‖ in The Glass Menagerie
• First, the unicorn symbolizes Laura • Purity, Beautiful, Peculiar, Vulnerable
• She likes a piece of translucent glass touched by light, given a momentary radiance, not actual, not lasting.(p460) • Tom: she’s terribly shy and lives in a world of her own and those things make her seem a little peculiar to people outside the sion:
• The unicorn symbolizes Laura’s cripple as well as Laura’s purity, beautiful, peculiar, vulnerable and also her desire to integrate into the real world. • The break of the unicorn symbolizes the break of Laura’s imaginary world.
The Symbolic Meaning of “unicorn” in The Glass Menagerie
Contents
• History of the Unicorn Symbol • Symbolic Meanings of the ―unicorn‖ in The Glass Menagerie
• Laura: [ smiling ]: I’ll just imagine ¹ he/I had an operation. The ² horn/cripple was removed to make ¹ him/me feel less—freakish! [ they both laugh. ] ³ now he/I will feel more at home with the other ² horses/people…(p489)
Answers:
1.Why do you think the unicorn is Laura's favorite piece in her glass collection?
• Because there are so many sameness between her and the glass unicorn. Purity, Beautiful, Peculiar, Vulnerable In other words, it is her incarnation in her imaginary world.
Questions:
1.Why do you think the unicorn is Laura's favorite piece in her glass collection? 2.Why do you think she doesn't get upset when its horn is broken off? 3.Why does she ultimately give the broken unicorn to Jim?