The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams

At the beginning of the play Amanda seems to be living vicariously through her daughter. She brings up gentleman callers constantly and is the only one who is enthusiastic about Laura marrying. Laura isn't excited and Tom doesn't seem to care at all. Amanda relives her old days as a girl in the South with  "seventeen!-- gentlemen callers!" Additionally, she obsesses over Laura refraining from doing anything that might cause her to be dirty. She constantly overestimates Laura and her popularity, refusing to see reality. Laura knows that she will have no gentlemen callers but Amanda cannot get over her glory days long enough to realize that no one is coming. She wants to relive her glory days and the best way to do that is through Laura. However, Laura, being shy, is unlikely to have any gentlemen callers with which Amanda can relive her past. Therefore, she is forced to pretend Laura will have gentlemen callers.