2 minute read
Linda Loman and Strong Women in Arthur Miller’s Dramas
Linda Loman
and Strong Women in Arthur Miller’s Dramas
In Wife of a Salesman, Burgess supposes that the two women who appear in Death of a Salesman meet and have deep discussions that they are not allowed in Miller’s original play. The majority of scholarship on Miller’s work focuses on the men in his plays; indeed, many have even highlighted the fact that his works are “men’s plays.” The women in Miller’s plays are not to be discounted, even if he often did so himself. While the character that is known as “The Mistress” is not given much space in Miller’s play, Linda Loman is a more central character than she is often given credit for.
Linda Loman is the center of her family, she is the strength in the Loman world. When Willy is falling apart and seeing his life as hopeless, Linda is the one who keeps everything going. While Willy’s memories show how much their sons doted on their father, Linda was the one keeping the home and taking care of the boys as Willy traveled for work. This “woman as the heart of the home” narrative was a common idea during the time in which Miller wrote the play, but Linda embodies a fortitude for which she is not always given credit.
It is sometimes hard for us as contemporary audiences to see the relationship between Linda and Willy and not wonder why she stays with a man who has not only been unfaithful, but who keeps her so sidelined in his view that he is “the main character” in their lives. Linda lives in a time when being divorced was frowned upon and her choices were limited; she also truly loves her husband even with his many shortcomings. As an audience, we might be able to see Linda’s life taking a whole new direction after Willy’s death, especially as she shares in the last lines of the play:
Several articles have been written in the past few years about the women in Miller’s plays and how audiences should re-examine them in a new light. Miller himself downplayed his understanding of women, and his own failings in relationships can be seen in many of his characters. But, while the men are the main characters, the women are often the ones who survive, the ones who are strong, the ones who carry on.
