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Death of a Salesman: Gender Roles Notes
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Some notes I made on gender roles within the play and how they lead and propound the tragedy.
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In ‘Death of a Salesman’, Miller reinforces stereotypical gender roles in order to reveal how tragicthey are and propound the tragedy of the play. Miller uses the characters in ‘Death of a Salesman’ as
constructs to represent key social groups that existed in American society and highlight how the
American dream impacted working class social groups. The Loman family appear to be stuck in a
self-perpetuating cycle of denial, contradiction and order versus disorder. This seems to conjure the
idea of claustrophobia, therefore establishing the tragic sealed fate of the Loman family. Willy is
presented as a stereotypical male from the start of the play through his position as a ‘salesman’ and
being the dominant figure in the Loman household. Ironically, Willy is the breadwinner of the Loman
family and this seems to place him as a typical American hegemonic male. Furthermore, his status as
a hegemonic male is evident in the play when he mentions to Linda about an incident which
occurred after someone called him a ‘walrus’. In response to this, the audience learn that Willy
‘cracked him right across the face’. The use of the violent verb ‘cracked’ exposes the violent
tendencies Willy seems to possess which expose his status as a stereotypical hegemonic male as it
was widely accepted that males in American society used their physical prowess and aggression as a
symbol of status which seems to further align him with the stereotypical man.
Additionally, the female gender roles are reminiscent of the time period and echo the sexist
attitudes towards women which were ingrained in society. Linda fulfils the stereotypical role of an
American hegemonic female of the time as she seems to be a passive character who is confined to
her domesticated lifestyle and activities. She is continuously shown to attempt to please her
husband and seek validation from him. Due to the androcentric structure of the play, Linda’s
character is deliberately side-lined to highlight that women were a minority group in American
society. Furthermore, Linda is also shown to hold domesticated items such as when she is carrying a
‘basket of washing’ perhaps illustrating that she is confined to household and domesticated activities
and she does not experience the same liberties her sons and her husband are allowed to experience.
Perhaps this cultivates a sense of claustrophobia as Linda is trapped in her role as a hegemonic
woman and cannot escape her duties. Notably, at the end of the play Linda utters the repeated
monosyllabic declarative, ‘We’re free… We’re free…’ This seems to expose the idea that the only
way for the cycle to be destroyed is for the Loman family to break the stereotypical gender
conventions.
Moreover, ‘The Woman’ is also used as a stereotypical character to reinforce the gender roles in
‘Death of a Salesman’. ‘The Woman’ is used as a foil for Linda as she seems to represent sexually
liberated women and she seems to be a construct who represents stereotypical promiscuous
women whose only purpose is derived from a man’s sexual desire. She relies on Willy in a different
way to Linda, requiring Willy’s sexual gratification instead of emotional compatibility. Miller uses an
antithetical juxtaposition of the ‘stockings’ to expose the contrast of the treatment that both women
receive from Willy. The ‘stockings’ seem to be a symbol of betrayal and sexual infidelity. Miller
seems to deliberately compartmentalise women to portray that women are in the minority and that
women in American society did not have the freedom or opportunities.
Conclusively, Miller uses gender stereotypes to propound the idea that the tragedy of the play
seems to stem from the stereotypical gender conventions which underpin the play and the
miscommunication between the different genders seems to heighten the tragedy further.
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