Chelsea S. Nolde
Professor Yan
English 102- 403
3, December 2015
Whether to Let Go Sometimes as stay-at-home mothers, we are forced to believe we only play certain roles in a household. That our only contribution to a household is to cook, clean, and watch the children. Not many people ever figure out how much their mother did until it is too late. Linda Lohman is Arthur Miller’s enigmatic character in “A Death of a Salesman”. Linda Loman goes from being a naïve matriarch, who is there just for household duties to a matriarch ruling over the family. From the daily conflicts, we get a clear comprehension of Linda Loman, who has grown from a figurehead to having full authority. Her metamorphosis is shown by her devotion, protectiveness, and strong-willed. Linda Loman’s devotion is a pivotal detail of her character throughout her passage as matriarch. Within the story, Linda shows devotion, saying to Biff,
“He’s the dearest man in the world to me, and I won’t have anyone making him feel unwanted and low and blue” (1477).Linda will not tolerate the boys disrespect. Although Linda is weary of Willy’s illness, her making sure his last days are happy ones shows her devotion to her husband. It doesn’t matter how terribly he treats her, the love she feels and thinks Willy deserves shines through. Another instance is Linda stating, “No. You can’t just come see me because I love him” (1477). Linda Loman’s devotion to her husband super cedes her sons. At this moment, it is made clear to Biff and Hap that while they go about living their lives, their mother is holding together the mind of the man who sacrificed his well being for them. She does this in a way, so Willy still feels empowered. The devotion in making sure Willy still feels like the man of the house is remarkable. Linda Loman most defining trait is her protectiveness. Later in the story, Linda shows her