To What Extent Does Miller’s Presentation of the Female Characters Show Them as the Tragic Victims in Death of a Salesman?

Aristotle believed that valour in a woman was inappropriate for tragedy, and this is an interesting point to consider when evaluating the female characters Arthur Miller’s modern domestic tragedy, Death of a Salesman. The play was first performed in 1949 and was received with some controversy, partially because of Miller’s arguably sexist portrayal of the female characters. In the space of a century, society was moving from patriarchal to egalitarian, and women were well on the way to being treated as liberated individuals and the equals of males. However, Miller’s presentation of the women in the play did not necessarily comply with the new ideas of gender equality and female empowerment. Many aspects of tragedy can be seen within the female characters of the play, including alienation, disorder, suffering, procrastination and the portrayal of the ‘tragic victim’. Miller embodies these and more aspects in the characters of “The Woman”, Happy’s many alleged women, and the protagonist Willy Loman’s wife, Linda. Willy’s affair in Boston, revealed to the audience through Miller’s use of what he called ‘mobile concurrence’ could highlight the idea of female liberation, as the woman claims to have “picked” Willy, giving the impression that Miller is inviting the audience to consider the idea of women becoming more dominant and authoritative in society. Adrian Page puts forth the idea that there is a suggestion of mutual interest between Willy and the woman. I only agree with this if Page meant that he saw Willy as not having an interest in The Woman as a ‘real’ woman to love, but more as someone who can compensate for his loneliness. It is also arguable that Willy’s affair occurred because of relief, as he once stated that people “don’t seem to take to him” so to have a woman “pick” him would have been most reassuring. Although there are most definitely aspects of female liberation in this scene, the woman is quite simply

Bibliography: films and internet resources • Page, Adrian (2003) York Notes Advanced on “Death of a Salesman” • Miller, Arthur (1949) Death of a Salesman • Beard, Adrian and Kent, Alan (2008) AQA – AS English Literature B • Death of a Salesman character descriptions - http://www.gradesaver.com/death-of-a-salesman/study-guide/character-list/ • Death of a Salesman (1985) Film adaptation, directed by Volker Schlöndorff