what indicates (clues) are there that is tension in the family? who seems to cause the tension?

We immediately sense the tension when the family sits down to dinner. Amanda is the cause of the tension. As a mother, she expects her son to be the provider for the family, and yet, she continues to treat him like a little boy. She treats her daughter in much the same way, wishing her own past as a popular Southern belle would wear off on her daughter, who has a distinct lack of gentleman callers.