Theme Of Women In Death Of A Salesman

Men may be stronger, but women are emotionally more durable than men. They are the backbone of the household, holding a family together and taking care of everyone, sometimes at the expense of their own wellbeing. This is seen in Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, in the character of Linda. Miller shows the role of women and wives play during this time in America, and shows Linda as the mother and wife, very rarely directly showing her as her own person. Women’s roles were changing in the 1940’s after the war. During the war they held jobs, but after the war they went back home, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids while men held jobs. The idea of women staying home while the men worked was hard for the Loman family

She takes care of the men, and when she tries to do something good, like saving money by mending socks, she is yelled at, ”I won’t have you mending stockings in this house! Now throw them out” (Miller 39). Linda is only there to listen to the men and do their bidding, offering comfort to them, “You’re my foundation and my support, Linda” (Miller 18), but never to herself until the end of the play, “Biff lifts her to her feet and moves out up right with her in his arms. Linda sobs quietly” (Miller 139). The general idea of this time for women is that they are after their husbands, that their needs should be met last. Linda is the ideal mother and wife, putting her family before her, but in this she lacked the ability to take care of herself and her mental health, which was most likely very damaged by Willy trying and eventually succeeding to kill himself, “Forgive me dear. I can't cry. I don't know what it is, but I can’t cry” (Miller