The bitterness of a Sweetie fairyland: a comparative reading of Jane Campion’s Sweetie based on Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie

This essay looks at the familial structure in Jane Campion’s film Sweetie (1989), drawing parallels with Tennessee Williams’s play The Glass Menagerie (1944). As it will be argued, both works are centred on the theme of delusion and familial dysfunction by categorizing characters into ones with extroverted delusions (Sweetie in the film and Amanda in the play) and introverted delusions (Kay in the film and Amanda’s children in the play). The use of a ‘tree’ to symbolise Sweetie’s egocentrism in the film is compared to the ‘jonquils’ representing Amanda’s narcissism in the play. Similarly, Kay’s connection to tiny ceramic horses in the film mirrors Laura’s refuge in her collection of animals in the play. Both works expose a delusional family structure to external characters (Jim O’Connor in The Glass Menagerie and Louis in Sweetie). Finally, both works touch upon the theme of patriarchy as a root of dysfunction in family.