when he breaks one of her beloved glass animals. Laura's gentleness and devotion to her glass menagerie is endearing; she creates for herself a fantasy world that is benign and childlike. Her crush on Jim, which has lasted for years, is both pathetic and understandable. She has been sheltered and has no cynicism or discernible anger. Laura has resigned herself to live a reclusive life and likely holds no more animosity toward Tom for his escape than she does for her father.

I'll start by explaining Laura's physical defect, because it is partly this that has caused her mental and psychological condition.

Laura's physical defect is a slight limp. However, this limp has become exaggerated; it has taken over her mind to the point that it becomes a large part of who she is. Her limp stems from the fact that her one leg is slightly shorter than the other. She suffered a disease as a child which caused this confidence-destroying affliction.

Mentally and psychologically, Laura is nervous and incredibly sensitive. Because of these traits, she has withdrawn into a fantasy world. A collection of glass animals is the most important thing to her. Despite being an adult, Laura still relies on her mother. She seems incapable of taking care of herself. She does, however, prove able to forget her physical handicap when Jim comes to visit. This proves to only be temporary, though.

A sympathetic character is one whom the audience can relate to and find likable. Watchers or readers naturally feels sympathy for Laura due to her limp. They appreciate her for her ongoing efforts to urge the various members of her family to get along. When Jim O'Connor comes into the picture, those watching the play are invariably gutted at Laura's disappointment when he turns out to be engaged.

Laura is a very sympathetic character, first, because she is crippled, she walks with a limp.  She lives a very isolated ', solitary life, content to polish her glass collection.  She patiently deals with the constant nagging of her mother who fears for her future.

Laura is the peace-maker of the family, trying her best to help her brother to get along with their mother.  And, finally, after Jim O'Connor comes to the house for dinner, and she actually has a wonderful time talking, dancing and sharing an intimate kiss with him, the reader feels a great deal of sympathy for her when she finds out that he is engaged to be married.

At the end of the play, when Tom abandons the family, the reader feels very sorry for Laura.

She is thoughtful and considerate of others: When Tom complains about hearing Amanda tell her 'seventeen gentleman callers story' over and over again, Laura just smiles and chides him to let her anyway since she 'loves to tell it.' By this she shows she has respect for what is important to others and not just what is priority for herself.

She is sincere and non-manipulative: When Amanda gives Laura the bra padding to wear to fill out her dress, Laura doesn't want to wear it, saying she doesn't want to make out to be something she isn't. Amanda's attitude is that women are supposed to use their sexual appeal to their advantage and that men even expect to be "trapped."

She is generous and unresentful in the face of failure: When Jim explains about his sweetheart, Laura is heartbroken but doesn not "blame" him. When he accidentally breaks the horn off the unicorn, her favourite ornament, she presses it into his hand, telling him to keep it as a souvenir of their meeting. She harbours no hard feelings over this "misunderstanding" whereas Amanda (once the door is shut) flies into a bona fide temper tantrum, venting off most of her steam at Tom.