1.  The Conditioned Passivity of Linda Loman - By Sarah

    Trees and grass once lined the streets of the Brooklyn neighbourhood, but they had long since been cut down. In their place, apartment buildings rose in towering, angular shapes. The buildings surrounded a small and fragile-looking house, blocking it from the last rays of the sunset. The house is the residence of the Loman family, and inside, Linda Loman waits patiently for her husband to arrive home from work.

    Linda had dedicated all of her married life to supporting her husband and ensuring the smooth running of the house. She unfailingly supported Willy’s dreams of career and financial success. Willy acknowledged this, saying to Linda, “you’re my foundation and my support” (Miller 18). Linda’s devotion to her husband reflected the social expectations for women in 1950s America.

    After the Second World War, American society was geared towards family life. Domesticity and nuclear families were idealized in the media, and women were encouraged to stay at home as mothers and housewives. Women who chose to work when they did not need the money were seen as selfish, as they were placing their own ambitions before the needs of their families. Husbands were the breadwinners and the head of the household, while wives were expected to be dutiful and supportive homemakers.

    These towering societal expectations loomed over Linda, blocking out the possibility of realizing her own dreams and any genuine pleasure she might have derived from this lifestyle. Being a good wife, mother, and housewife is a worthy goal, but it was Linda’s only choice. She was trapped in a cage of the societal standards of her time with very few options of escape.

    I have also experienced society’s expectations and stereotypes for girls. When I expressed an interest in going into the field of technology, some adults would say “that’s a very demanding career path for a girl! Are you sure you want to?”. This reflected society’s perception of the STEM field as a masculine and male-dominated field where women might not be as successful. In the mid-twentieth century, women had much less freedom and opportunities than the present day, and housewives like Linda would have felt immense pressure to follow her prescribed path.

    For example, Linda wholeheartedly supported Willy in his conflict with their son, Biff. Biff refused to settle into a regular career, which created a strained relationship between him and Willy. Linda attributed this as the cause of Willy’s instability and gave Biff an ultimatum: he must repair his relationship with Willy, or Linda will no longer allow him to return home. Linda demonstrated her devotion to Willy, stating that “he is the dearest man in the world to me, and I won’t have anyone making him feel unwanted and low and blue” (Miller 55). She agreed with Willy’s philosophy of the American Dream out of loyalty, and hoped that once Biff begins working, peace can be restored and Willy can be content again.

    Linda further defended Willy by stating, “I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the papers. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing had happened to him. So attention must be paid” (Miller 56). Linda saw through Willy’s illusions of being successful and knew the truth about his situation. However, she continued to be the perfect wife and allowed Willy to remain in his bubble of fantasy, reassuring and protecting him from the needle of reality.

    One day, Linda made a shocking discovery. Willy had connected a rubber pipe to the gas heater, intending to one day commit suicide by inhaling the gas. Caught in this awkward situation, Linda took away the rubber pipe every day, only to put it back when Willy came home. When Linda told her sons about the rubber pipe, she admitted that she was too ashamed to mention it to Willy. She did not want to insult him or shatter the delicate facade of normalcy in her family. However, by ignoring the problem, Willy’s delusion worsened until it led to his death.

    At Willy’s funeral, Linda sat unmoving in front of the grave, unable to cry despite her grief and confusion. She kept expecting Willy to come home, as if he was on another business trip. Linda had made the last payment on their house, and the Loman family’s financial troubles were finally over. However, Willy was gone and Linda was left alone.

    Linda’s story warns us against blindly following society’s standards, especially when it damages the health and happiness of ourselves and others. When it is time to take decisive action, we should do what is right despite external forces that drag us down. Due to pressures to conform to the role of a good housewife, Linda was passive in the face of dysfunction in her family. She adhered to the grand narrative of a wife’s role and unquestioningly supported her husband, even when her family would have benefited from proactiveness and an objective viewpoint.

    In a twist of irony, Linda’s efforts to obey society’s rules and maintain the picture of a perfect family enabled her family to fall apart. All of her efforts to protect Willy came to nothing, as she lost him in the end. Although the Loman’s house now completely belonged to Linda, she would live there alone, enclosed in the shadows of the towering apartment blocks.

Reference: Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Penguin Books, 1976.