In 1930s St. Louis, Missouri, fading Southern belle Amanda Wingfield has been the head of them for sixteen years, ever since her husband, who worked for the telephone company, abandoned the family for exotic lands. Amanda lives in a dingy apartment with her grown children, Laura and Tom, both in their mid-twenties, and sells magazine subscriptions to help with household expenses. Tom works in a warehouse earning $65 a month, but writes poetry in his spare time and goes to the movies nightly, seeking adventure through the movie characters. Laura, who has a club leg, is fragile, shy and introverted, but enjoys collecting tiny glass figurines of animals, a collection her mother refers to as her “glass menagerie.” Amanda, who dominates every aspect of her children’s lives, worries that suitors are not coming to see Laura. Amanda grew up in the rural Mississippi Delta town of Blue Mountain and frequently romanticizes about all the suitors she had as a young girl, claiming that one day she had seventeen “gentlemen callers.” Amanda dreams of the same thing for her daughter, but fears Laura will be an “old maid.” Amanda tries to remain optimistic, saying that “gentlemen callers come when you least expect them,” but is distressed to learn Laura dropped out of Rubicon Business College, where she was taking a typing class. Laura explains she was so nervous that she vomitted when they had a typing test and she was too embarrassed to return. Rather than confess to her mother that she dropped out, Laura left the apartment each day and wandered about town, frequently going to the zoo. During high school, Laura liked a popular boy named Jim, who was on the debate team and played basketball. Laura and Jim were in the chorus together. Jim’s nickname for Laura was “Blue Roses,” a name that came about because he misunderstood Laura when she explained that she had been out sick with fluorosis. Laura refers to herself as “crippled” because of her club foot, but Amanda chastises her, saying never to use that word, calling it instead a “little defect.” One day, Tom rages against his mother’s interference. Amanda says she will not speak to him again until he apologizes, but Tom refuses. For several weeks, Laura relays messages between them. When Laura trips on the stairs, mother and brother rush to her aid and afterward Tom apologizes to his mother. Amanda tells her son that he is full of “natural endowments,” and encourages him to succeed, but pleads with him not to become a drunkard. Tom says there is much in his heart which he cannot put into words. Amanda begs Tom to help find a nice young man for Laura, insisting that he cannot leave home until his sister is married. Tom suggests that Laura is so shy, suitors will find her “peculiar,” but a few days later, Tom mentions that he has invited Jim O’Connor, a co-worker from the warehouse, to come to dinner. Tom describes Jim as “medium homely” in appearance and says that he is studying radio engineering and public speaking at night school. Tom reports that Jim is the only true friend he has at the warehouse and speculates it is because Tom is the only one there who remembers Jim’s high school glory days when he was on the basketball team and debate team. Although Laura and Jim were in the same high school class, Tom doubts the two knew each other because “Laura had been as unobtrusive as Jim had been astonishing.” When Jim comes to dinner, he encourages Tom take a public speaking class to help him be more outgoing. Tom confesses that he has joined the U.S. Merchant Marine and plans to leave soon. Tom used the electric bill money to cover the cost of joining the Merchant Marine. Laura is so nervous about the dinner, she claims to be sick and cannot come out of her room. However, when dinner is ready, her mother persuades her to come out, but Laura faints. She lies on the sofa while the other three eat dinner. As they finish the meal, the power goes out, and Amanda brings out candles. Jim tries to chat with Laura, but she is so nervous, she can barely converse with him. Laura reminds Jim they were in the high school chorus together, and that he called her “Blue Roses.” Laura confesses she was self-conscious because she wore a leg brace and it made a lot of noise when she walked. Laura shows Jim the high school program from Pirates of Penzance in which he starred. She wanted to get his autograph after the show, but he was surrounded by his friends and she was too shy to approach him. Jim signs the program for her. Laura dropped out of high school shortly before graduation and Jim reports that he expected to be a lot further with his life than working in a warehouse. Laura asks Jim about the announcement in the newspaper saying he was engaged to Emily. He reports they are no longer together and that they were never engaged despite Emily putting the notice in the paper. Laura shows her glass figurine collection to Jim, explaining that glass is something you must take very good care of. She lets him hold her favorite figurine, a glass unicorn. Jim suggests that Laura has an inferiority complex and that taking a public speaking class will help her overcome it. He hears music coming from the dance club across the alley and coaxes Laura to dance with him. They dance a waltz, Laura’s first time ever dancing, but bump into the table where the glass unicorn is sitting. It falls to the floor and the horn breaks off. Laura tries to dismiss the accident, saying the unicorn will now be like the other horses. Jim declares that Laura is pretty and needs to be kissed. He kisses her, then apologizes, saying he was out of line, as he is now engaged to marry an Irish-Catholic girl named Betty, who is currently out of town. Laura offers Jim the glass unicorn figurine as a souvenir of their evening together. Amanda brings some lemonade and says she wants Jim to come back often, but Jim says he cannot because he and Betty are getting married in June, although they have not yet made a formal announcement of it yet. Jim thanks Amanda for her southern hospitality, thanks Laura for the souvenir, and leaves. Amanda blames Tom for bringing an engaged man to see Laura, but Tom did not know about the engagement. Amanda does not believe him, calling the situation “peculiar” and chastising Tom for being “selfish.” Shortly after that, Tom leaves St. Louis to join the Merchant Marine and never sees his family again, although he often thinks of Laura.