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The Women S Situation in The 1950 S Amer PDF
The Women S Situation in The 1950 S Amer PDF
The Women’s Situation in the 1950’s America: through the Representation of Female
Characters in the Drama of “Death of a Salesman” (1949) and “Fences” (1957)
and the way in which female characters are interpreted and enacted, have
view concerning the roles assigned to women in the USA. In order to understand
the actual situation of females in the American society, one should engage in a
close examination of female characters in the two inspiring plays, namely Arthur
1950’s.
First and foremost, before starting to study the role of female characters in
the aforementioned plays, one should delve into the socio-historical background
in order to make up for the domestic labor shortage. After the war, the number
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of working women decreased drastically due to the fact that soldiers returned
home and claimed their jobs back. Society, back then, endeavored to condition
within her society she was supposed to stay home and nurture. The stereotypical
perfect housewife cooked dinner for her husband before arriving from work.
Moreover, a good wife was seen as the one who surrendered to her husband's
1950’s, readers should carefully study and examine Arthur Miller’s character
Mrs. Linda Loman. Linda does not represent an individual, but all white women
who belonged to the middle class at the time. During the course of the play,
Linda embodies the role of that almost perfect homemaker, who takes good care
of her husband, Willy, and her two children, Biff and Happy. “Linda epitomizes
the notion of female passivity, caretaking, and self-sacrifice. She stands by her
man, seldom questioning and never opposing him.” (Kinnison, 88) Beside
cooking food, doing dishes and laundry, she plays an important role as a
supportive wife and protective mother. What is more, she enacts the role of the
conscious side of the family. That is, she tells Willy lies in order to soothe him,
telling him he has “too much on the ball to worry about” and is “the handsomest
man in the world” (Kirszner, Mandell,49). Linda Loman has perfected the art of
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being a good homemaker, as her son happy articulates “They broke the mold
In so much the same manner, Mrs. Rose Maxson incarnates the role of
the stereotypical obedient and caring wife in Wilson’s Fences. During the course
of the drama, Rose spends a good deal of time in the kitchen cooking for her
family and their friends, and in occasions resorting to church to pray for her
family’s union and protection. Additionally, In Act One, Scene Two Rose asks
both Troy and Cory to fix the broken fence of their house; a request that,
metaphorically speaking, symbolizes her attempt to protect her home from any
outside danger, and preserve her family’s union. She has a blind trust in Troy
and has never thought that he would once betray her. In Act two, Scene one,
Troy encourages himself to confess to Rose that soon he is going to be the father
I been standing with you! I been right here with you, Troy. I got a
life too. I gave eighteen years of my life to stand in the same spot
with you... I planted a seed and watched and prayed over it. I
to give you. You always talking about what you give . . . and what
you don't have to give. But you take, too. You take . . . and don't
even know nobody's giving! [sic] (Wilson Act II, Scene I).
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“For Rose marriage is sacred and important despite the sacrifice, so Troy’s
infidelity has done more than wound her; it has also wounded the idea of black
marriage that she has desperately attempted to create for their family” (Menson-
Furr, 81).
both playwrights demonstrates males strive to realize their American dream, and
excludes women’s hopes, dreams, and expectations. A close reading of the play
exhibits that only Willy and his sons, Biff and Happy, discuss their dreams,
Unlike Willy and his sons, the audience does not know Linda's dreams and
desires, or even that she has expectations rather than being a dutiful wife and a
caring mother. The character of Linda stands for the 1950’s American women
who were excluded from the American dream due to their secondary status
corresponding to gender.
In the first skirmish between Rose and Troy in Act Two, Scene One, she
reveals that she has dreams and expectations. In her words, Rose tells Troy:
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“Don't you think I had dreams and hopes? What about my life? What about
me?... I took all my feelings, my wants and needs, my dreams . . . and I buried
them inside you” (Wilson, Act II, Scene I). Certainly, Rose Maxson is an
altruistic personage which is seen throughout the play as she discards her own
needs for the comfort of her entourage. As the play moves forward, the readers
are informed of Troy’s dream of being a truck driver, a dream that is realized
later in the play. Similarly, the audience is aware of the big dream of Cory, in
that he wants to be a football player and gets a scholarship with the purpose to
enter college. From the beginning to the end of the play Rose, as well as all the
other female characters, maintains a static role, that of a house keeper. Through
the way the characterizations are handled by the realistic playwrights of both
century, especially those who belonged to the middle and lower classes, were
states that:
If men can’t achieve the unrealistic economic goals set for them in
manhood in some other area: they must be the most sexually active
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(or make others believe that they are) or be able to hold the most
in which he notes “Other than Charley’s briefly seen secretary Jenny and Linda
Loman, the women are described as sexual objects: Miss Francis, the “buyer” in
Willy’s Boston hotel room, referred to as “The Woman”; Miss Forsythe, whom
Happy assures Biff is “on call,” referred as “Girl”; and her friend “Letta,” also
obviously “on call”” (11). The character of The Woman enacts the role of a
dichotomous standpoint: the faithful wife (Linda in the kitchen) versus the
In Act One, Scene One in Fences Troy and Bono are engaged in a “men
talk” wherein they are discussing their sexual desires. Troy says “Legs don’t
mean nothing. You don’t do nothing but push them out of the way. But them
hips cushion the ride![sic]” ( Act I, Scene I). Still in another instance, Troy tells
Bono in the presences of Rose: “See this woman Bono? I love this woman. I
love this woman so much it hurts... Don’t you come by my house Monday
stroking! [sic]” (Wilson, Act I, Scene II). This quote reveals the mode of
thinking that was pervasive back then. Rose is not only seen as a diligent
housewife, but also a sexual object for Troy. Besides, it is important to mention
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the affair between the character of Alberta and Tory. Every Friday after work,
with an atmosphere where he can get rid of stress, as well as express his
manhood. Troy’s treatment of the opposed sex corresponds to the same vision of
women were victims of the established traditions that were pervasive in the
1950’s.
Woman, Miss Forsythe, Letta and Linda), and Fences (Raynell, Alberta, Bonnie,
Miss Pearl, Mrs. Bono, Rose) correspond to the roles contributed to the
American females in the 1950’s. The plays under analysis are considered as
realistic artworks. Surely, placing these characters into their political, social,
economic, and historical context, one finds striking similarities between the
fictional characters and the stereotypical women of the time. The choice of the
the established traditions, wherein the patriarchal ideology denied women from
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Dream. A number of critics started to interrogate the woman’s conditions during
activists got engaged into a series of protestations to change the status quo.
Works Cited
2010. Ebook.
through the lens of gender. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. Ebook.
2008. Ebook.