Author and Authorship in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman: Willy Loman's Attempts to Author a Nostalgic, Fictitious Past Lead to His Downfall, While Linda Loman’s Miller-Authored Warnings Fall on Willy’s Ever-Deaf Ears

Author

Allison Stein-Jackter, CUNY City CollegeFollow

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Department

English

First Advisor

Renata Miller

Second Advisor

Vaclav Paris

Keywords

Authorship, Nostalgia, Falsehoods, Reality

Abstract

Throughout the 20th century, the American male protagonist’s obsession with and longing for a past that never existed brings about his own downfall. In Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman nostalgically fantasizes about a bygone era, the pre-war days of glory and greatness, but as he attempts to recreate his presumed former prestige in a post-war world, the fantasy unravels, with not only death and destruction in his dream’s widening, illusory wake, but the unraveling also presents itself in the recognition that Willy’s carefully crafted memories are works of fiction. Decades of literary research focus on Willy’s fascination and obsession with memory, nostalgia for a previous age that never measures up to his memory of it. But, there is a wider gap in the research when it comes to the woman’s role. Willy’s female counterpart, Linda Loman, manages to survive because she is rooted in reality. For Linda, time moves on and reality fuels her forward progress, while Willy remains irrevocably tied to a false, self-conceived past. Routinely focusing on Linda as permissive or assisting in prolonging Willy’s fantasies, as merely the long-suffering housewife motif that Willy proposes, only exacerbates the notion that women are superfluous to the stories of men. Linda’s attempts to awaken her fantasy laden husband fall on deaf ears, and they also fall on blind critics. As the author of his fictions, Willy veers further and further from the truth of his situation and his character, while Miller’s moral lessons assert their sway through Linda as the truth teller. Linda is Miller’s voice, reminding the readers that “attention must be paid” to both Willy’s delusions and Linda’s accuracy.

Recommended Citation

Stein-Jackter, Allison, "Author and Authorship in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman: Willy Loman's Attempts to Author a Nostalgic, Fictitious Past Lead to His Downfall, While Linda Loman’s Miller-Authored Warnings Fall on Willy’s Ever-Deaf Ears" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1223