This short play depicts a family’s (The Wingfield’s) life from memory, with a mother who decided that her children’s ambitions were more important than her own; she constantly berated her children, who wanted nothing more than to get away from her. They were living in less than favorable conditions, in a world that was surreal, hoping for the greatest opportunity to escape their dismal existence.
 Amanda Wingfield, saw her children as a potential, a way out of her predicament. As is portrayed in the sentence “Fifty dollars’ tuition, all of our plans – my hopes and ambition for you – just gone up the spout, just gone up the spout like that“. 
 Amanda is unable to let go of the past, as is evidenced by the constant mention of her girlhood days and because of this inability, it often escapes her that her children are grown, so she bombards them with her expectations and her wishes, having been abandoned by her husband sixteen years before, she decided that her plan B was her children. She tried desperately to get her daughter, Laura, to forget about her disability and focus on the task of attracting “gentlemen callers.”  In a world where it was socially unacceptable for a young lady of 24, to be unattached, Laura wingfield would have been considered an outsider by many, she had no friends, no interests except for her collection of glass animals, and a mother who constantly berated her because of her inability to have “gentlemen callers,” she was seriously deluded, and misguided.
Laura, as fragile as her glass animals in her menagerie, could only envision her life the way her mother wanted it to be.
 Amanda’s determination in this aspect drove her to exert subliminal control over her children, as evidenced by her words “I mean that as soon as Laura has got somebody to take care of her, married, a home of her own, independent? – Why, then you’ll be free to go wherever you please, on land, on sea, whichever way the wind blows you!  But until that time you’ve got to look out for your sister”
They led a life of disappointment, unhappiness, shattered hopes and dreams. There was also an element of regret in the choice she had made for a husband, as she kept reminiscing on her past when she had “seventeen gentlemen callers in one day,”  and the lines she mentioned to her children, that “she could have been Mrs. Duncan J. Fitzhugh, mind you! –but she chose their father”
Her daughter was suffering from low self esteem, (’if you could be talking about that terribly shy little girl who dropped out of school after only a few days’ attendance?’)  But she was in denial, (Don’t say crippled! You know that I never allow that word to be used!) and to exacerbate the situation, she ignored the fact that her daughter was unable to remain in school, because of her condition, and would not be able to function in he presence of a suitor (“There was a Jim O’Connor we both knew in high school – [Then, with effort.] If that is the one that Tom is bringing to dinner – you’ll have to excuse me, I won’t come to the table”.)
Amanda’s despair was evident when she discovered that Laura had dropped out of business school, and remarked “what are we going to do?   What will become of us?  What is the future?” 
Amanda also pressured Tom, “Yesterday you confiscated my books! You had the nerve to -AMANDA: I took that horrible novel back to the library- yes! That hideous book by that insane Mr. Lawrence. [Tom laughs wildly.] I cannot control the output of diseased minds or people who cater to them – [Tom laughs still more wildly.] BUT I WON’T ALLOW SUCH FILTH BROUGHT INTO MY HOUSE! NO, no, no, no, no!”  even though Tom was the one paying the rent.
Tom was denied the opportunity to live his own life, and ended up living the life of a recluse, he had no friends, neither male nor female, and he spent all his spare time at the movies, or writing poems, trying to escape the despair and desperation he experienced at home.
Tom remembered that his mother was always argumentative, always trying to tell him what to do, and how to do it.  After reluctantly agreeing to, he invited someone from work to dinner, so he could meet Laura. This ended with another disappointment, as the young gentleman turned out to be engaged to someone else, thereby shattering, once again, Laura’s hopes of leading a normal life, of being like everyone else, as in the case of the broken unicorn. (“Now it is just like all the other horses”.)
Conclusion:
The story is mainly about the life of Laura Wingfield, It shows that her family, obviously outcasts of society, had no friends, family or anyone who would be able to lend a helping hand. They were in a quandary. The mother, Amanda Wingfield would go to any lengths to get her daughter out of the house and into society and her son to lead what is perceived to be a normal life. It heavily depicts “Amanda’s unwillingness to let go of her past,” evidenced by the photo of her estranged husband who had left them sixteen years before.  Also her constant reminiscing on her past, many times, totally oblivious to the fact that her daughter was disabled, and not like normal girls her age.
In spite of all the conflicts, disappointment, deception and  despair the wingfield family has been through, their hopes, dreams, expectations and frustrations are encapsulated into this play which recognizes perseverance, a great deal of patience, the need for human dependency and also shows evidence of problem solving.