Exploring Gender Roles in the 1940s With Reference Death of a Salesman - Research Paper Example

Exploring Gender Roles in the 1940s With Reference To the Play, “Death of a Salesman” Miller, in his 1949 play, the “Death of a Salesman,” addresses a number of themes. The manner in which he addresses the various topics portrays the issues people faced in the society then. Among these were wealth and financial success, family values, and gender roles. In the 1940s, the society faced a myriad of challenges, as Miller reveals in the characterization of the play. Comparing the society then and today, it is possible to draw one major conclusion; that the society has gone through tremendous changes over time to what it is today. Discussing gender roles in the American society in the 1940s with reference to the play, the “death of a salesman,” this research paper will address various issues such as the rigid view of gender roles in the family unit, the lack of social flexibility for women to be providers and the male pride and female expectations. Using secondary research, this essay will conclude that in the 1940s, there were clearly set out gender roles in the society. The rigid view of gender roles in the family In the play, the “death of a salesman,” there is a clear distinction between the gender roles in the family unit. The story, revolving around the family of the main character, Willy, shows the differences in the gender roles between the men and women in the family. While the role of men was to provide for the family, women held the role of looking after the house and helping their husbands out (Gentry and Lee 309). This, as the character of Willy and his wife Linder portrayed, was the actual scene in the family then. Willy, with the high ambitions of becoming a successful man, single-handed works in order to provide for his small family. Through the flashbacks to the time when his was a young family, both held the same roles. Subsequently, there was a clear distinction between these roles between the two. Willy was a salesperson, who travelled over long distances in business trips, looking for clients for his boss. On the other hand, Linda was always at home, waiting for her husband to return home from work. Not even a single instance was there a mention of Linda working or leaving the house. Women, currently hold two different roles, one of looking after their homes and that of helping in providing for their families (Morin 438). Before the era of gender equality set in, there was a significant difference. According to Morin (437), women did not take part in the financial issues facing the family, as men were the primary breadwinners. They cooked for their husbands, took care of the children, washed and entertained their husbands. This, as Gentry and Lee (309) observe, was a role naturally determined and, one that nobody could alter. Regardless of their level of education, women remained under their men. To some extent, this play portrays the plight of women in the American society during this time. Although in some instances Willy paid attention to his wife, this did not happen until his healthy condition became worse. Willy never honoured his wife’s advice, until the day he walked home in a critical health condition, and his wife became more concerned about his health. Only then did he agree that he would buy her idea of talking to his boss on a job that would keep around New York. Perhaps, from the flashbacks that he had of his brother’s departure to Alaska, and the frequency with which Ben’s images haunted him, Willy blamed Linda for his desolate state and stalled success. Despite working extremely hard, he had nothing to show out of it. On the other hand, his brother Ben, who had left for Alaska had discovered a gold mine in Africa, and was now an extremely rich person. Before Ben left for Alaska, he had persuaded Willy to join him. However, with the conviction of his wife, who argued that he had a family and a job, Willy decided to remain in New York. Women always have an attachment to their family, more than men, point out Gentry and Lee (309). Due to this reason, women have a closer attachment to the children, contrary to the husbands. In fact, Linda was more close to their sons more than Willy was. She understood them and kept track of their lives, as Unger (360) points out, that women have to take care of their children in the absence of their husbands. At one point, she was aware that Bill, the eldest of her two sons, was supposed to return a football that he had stolen. Further, she noted that he was too rough with the neighbourhood girls, something that Willy had not discovered yet. Lack of social flexibility for women to be primary providers The setting of the society then did not allow women to take part in any in come generating activities. To some extent, some conservative males saw this is an effort to gain equality with them (Morin 440). Further, other men believed that a financially stable woman was likely to be submissive. The woman was thus supposed to remain at home and fully depend on their husband on everything. Being a dependant, a woman had neither a voice nor choices. However, a motivated woman, one who could contribute to the financial wellbeing of the family, was less likely to be submissive. Willy knew this too well, and thus, Linda was the women of the house. By keeping her occupied the whole day with family matters, he knew that she would have no opportunity to look for work. She was the one receiving telephone for the family, washing, cleaning, cooking and taking care of the sons. She thus had a full schedule, one that could not have given her an opportunity to look for a job. There was no flexibility whatsoever for women then to provide for the family, as this was a major role held by men (Unger 360). Linda was oblivious of the situation that her husband was going through at work. Not only did he travel for long distances for business trips, he also suffered low esteem from, the meagre salary he received. Moreover, he thought that the main reason why he never made good money from the business deals that he made was that people did not like him at all. Despite this understanding, she never offered to look for a job to help him with the numerous bills that he had to pay. Instead, she gave him advices that in most cases did not work. Male pride and female expectations Men, known for their pride, especially due to their achievements, live in denial most of the times. A man, naturally, will deny going through any form of problems, while in real sense he faces numerous problems. They show little suffering outwardly, when they are aware that they problems that require intervention. With this pride, women expect too much from their men, which in most cases end up frustrating them, whenever these expectations fail to become a reality. Willy was a proud man, if the events happening in his life were anything to go by. Despite the fact that he knew Bernard was a smart in school, he could not accept this fact. Instead, he kept arguing him Biff his son that although Bernard was smarter in class, especially in maths, he was not well like. This, in business gave Biff an upper hand over Bernard. He had developed this perception from the many failures he had in business. After failing in his career as a salesperson, Willy could not accept the reality. Instead, he argued that he was not “well liked” by people. As he believed business was great career, and that people made considerable amount of money from sales, he wanted Biff to pursue a career in business. He thus used his theory to comfort his son, on the likelihood of his success in business over Bernard. After getting fired from his job, Willy decided to venture in business, and sought for help from his friend, and  Bernard’s father, Charley who owned a successful business. Charley however, could not lend him all the money he required, and instead, offered Willy a job. Due to his pride, Willy could not accept the job, and ended up turning down Charley’s offer. His pride contributed to his wife’s huge expectations about her husband. She hoped for a good life, and a successful man. However, this did not happen. Instead, they lived just a normal life, with Willy struggling with the bills in the house. She expected her sons to be successful people, but when Biff failed to attend summer school, it greatly affected her. Conclusively, Miller, in the play portrays the gender roles at home in the 1940s. With the manner in which he revels the issues surrounding Willy’s family, gender roles were a common issue in the society, especially in the family setting., men had defined roles, those of financially providing for their family, and going to work as well as running family businesses, while their women held the role of taking care of their homes. Secondary research supports this argument, as an analysis of different articles and books reveal. Works Cited Gentry, James W., and Lee Phillip McGinnis. "Doing Gender In The Family: Household Production Issues." Advances In Consumer Research 30.1 (2003): 309-313. Business Source Complete. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. Morin, Erica A. "“No Vacation For Mother”: Traditional Gender Roles In Outdoor Travel Literature, 1940–1965." Women's Studies 41.4 (2012): 436-456.Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. Unger, Rhoda K. Handbook of the Psychology of Women and Gender. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004. Print. Read More