I haven't heard the term "panopticon" used in this context
before; however, it does seem to fit Amanda in The Glass
Menagerie. A panopticon is a kind of building, often a prison, designed so
that one can observe everything simultaneously. The idea is that the observer is
actually in control of all components or elements--or people--within view. That's
Amanda.
In this play, Amanda does, indeed, seem to be in
the middle of everything, orchestrating her children's lives as well as her own. She is
the one who wants Laura to attend business school, despite the fact that Laura is
ill-equipped for the rigors of such a course of study. Amanda also arranges for a
gentleman caller and the lengths to which she goes to orchestrate that are almost
laughable. Laura is in her mother's control in nearly every way; the one exception is
her defection from Rubicam's Business College. Aside from that, Amanda controls Laura's
life.
Regarding Tom, Amanda is less precise in her
machinations; however, she is just as effective. Tom is "guilted" into bringing home
someone from the factory and he is nagged mercilessly from "Rise and shine"
to questioning him about going to movies at midnight. Tom feels trapped as Amanda
controls the puppet strings of his life. Eventually, of course, she loses
him.
Perhaps Amanda can be forgiven because it appears as
if she does want what's best for her children; however, her heavy-handed orchestration
of virtually every aspect of their lives actually serves to alienate them from her. In
the end, Amanda's efforts don't particularly work, as Laura is still without a
productive future and Tom has followed in the footsteps of his
father.
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