ECONOMIC ANXIETY AND MASCULINITY IN ARTHUR MILLER’S DEATH OF A SALESMAN

Abstract

The article under consideration discusses the Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller that is being viewed as a fierce retort to the American Dream because it is concerned with the disastrous consequences of the financial demands and the societal pressure on the male gender to attain a level of material prosperity. The given article examines the interrelation between economic anxiety and masculinity in the seminal play of Miller through the embodiment of Willy Loman, a character, whose identity and sense of value directly depend on his prerogatives to support the family and fill the superiority of masculinity. Based on a close reading of the play, the study focuses on how Willy fears loss of his financial and social position, which results in the psychological decline, and how his experiences reflect the rest of the society regarding the expectation of a man to succeed. The article holds that Miller criticizes not just capitalist system but also strict gender rules about what men are supposed to do as providers, revealing the vulnerability and especially the destructive peril of such constructions. The analysis lends support to current discussions of economic distress, masculinity and identity and indicates that the work by Miller is very relevant in an up-to-date discourse of gender, class, and mental illness.