Death of a Salesman Willy

Death of a Salesman

Willy and Linda have a rather strange, strained relationship in Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman." Linda seems very supportive of Willy, and it is clear she loves him, but she does not really understand him. At the end of the play, she does not understand why Willy killed himself, and who he was at all. In that, she seems isolated and a bit out of touch with reality - even more so than Willy, if that is possible. Sometimes she treats him like a child, too. She knows him well enough to recognize when something is wrong, but she does not know him well enough to understand what his reaction will be, and that is sad in a relationship that has lasted so long.

Linda's support is detrimental to Willy, because she never confronts him directly with problems, and she hides things from him. She treats him like a child that way, and so, he is not able to cope with disappointment and defeat. He always thinks something better is around the bend, and cannot deal with failure or dissatisfaction. Linda does not build up this responsibility in him, and so, she is at least partially responsible for his inability to cope with pressure and stress.

Willy treats Linda carefully, because he is always afraid she will find out about the affair. He lies to her, which is extremely harmful to any relationship, and because he lies to her, he ends up lying to himself. He will not admit, even to himself, that anything is wrong, and he cannot ask for help from his wife or his family. Linda has had to take control of the family because Willy is incapable of that kind of control, and so, she has lost touch with everything, including Willy and his problems. Willy will not tell her the truth because he does not want to "worry" her, but really, that is crueler than sharing his problems with her. By leaving her in the dark, she has no way to understand his motives for suicide. She also has no way to help him, and giving up the support of your loved ones when you need it the most is a purely selfish and self-centered act. Ultimately, Linda and Willy were married, but they were strangers, too, and that is terribly sad in any marriage.