Glass Menagerie: Self-Loathing in Gender Roles In the 1930s males were raised to be the provider of their families and the breadwinner. Females were bred to be housewives and caretakers of the home. In Tennessee Williams “The Glass Menagerie” gender plays an important role in how societies view females and males. Women in this time period gained little power while men were the dominant ones. This left Amanda dependent on her son Tom, her family's sole breadwinner for their financial stability. Amanda's high expectations of her son regarding the family's security made it more difficult for Tom to realize his dreams. In “The Glass Menagerie,” Tennessee Williams unabashedly makes assumptions about gender roles in the 1930s, having the play's narrator tell readers how his family and society pushed him to put his dreams aside and his aspirations to become the man of the house. , like many other young people during this time period. Society has always made distinctions between men and women. Society views men as dominant over the family, the workforce, and women as caretakers. “During the 1930s, traditional conceptions of gender roles prevailed; consequently, men were expected to be the breadwinners of their families” (Bryson). Men are known to be the provider and protector of the family. Meclvaine, a historian, believed that the true definition of a “real man” was one who has authority, one who is responsible and who makes all the decisions in families. Whereas women are known as subordinates and have no input into family decisions other than child care and housework. “At the turn of the century, the typical working woman still worked between paper, making it more difficult for her to pursue her goals. Furthermore, Tom had his own dreams and goals and did not want to work in the warehouse for the rest of his life. Tom's priorities were what society wants and he thought about 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 he can do what he wants for once 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 continues to live with him, because he abandoned his mother and sister like his father did. Tom, like all young people of his time, had to abandon everything to become the man of the house when his father was absent. Setting aside many of his dreams just to make his mother's dreams come true.