Glass Menagerie: Self-Loath in Gender RolesIn the 1930s, men were raised to provide for their families and be the heads of family. Women were raised to be housewives and caretakers of the home. In Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, gender plays a major role in how societies view women and men. At that time, women were given little power while men were dominant. This led Amanda to depend on her son Tom, her family's sole support for ultimate stability. Amanda's high expectations of her son for family security made it more difficult for Tom to achieve his dreams. In "The Glass Menagerie," Tennessee Williams openly makes assumptions about gender roles in the 1930s by having the play's narrator tell readers how his family and society pressured him to put aside his own dreams and aspirations to become the man of the house. , like many other young men at that time. Society has always had distinctions between men and women. Society believes that men dominate the home and the workforce and women are the caretakers. “Traditional conceptions of gender roles prevailed in the 1930s; therefore, men were expected to be the breadwinners of their families” (Bryson). Men are known to be the providers and protectors of the family. Meclvaine, a historian, believed that the true definition of a "real man" is one who has authority, one who leads and makes all decisions in households. While women are known to be subordinate and have no influence in household decision-making except for taking care of children and domestic work. “At the turn of the century, the typical worker was still working on paper… which made it more difficult for her to achieve her goals. Besides, Tom had his dreams and goals and he didn't want to work at the warehouse for the rest of his life. Tom's priorities were what society wanted and what was right for men to do in the 1930s. In this situation, the only way for Tom to achieve his dreams was to leave his family behind, so that for once he can do what he wants without being ridiculed by society and his mother. Tom felt guilty for leaving his family, because he was the only one they depended on. He had the opportunity to help his family, and now the guilt lingers with him, because he abandoned his mother and sister the same way his father did. Tom, like all young men of his era, had to give up everything to become the man of the house when their father was away. Putting many of his dreams aside just to make his mother's dreams come true.