Exploring Death of a Salesman Through a Psychoanalytic Lens

Psychoanalysis is a modern literary theory concerned with personality and the unconscious, and it has a close relationship with literature. It is widely used in literary criticism as a tool for interpreting character, motivation, and meaning. The present paper is a critical and comparative research study of the American playwright Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. The purpose of this paper is to examine the psychology in human mind through the character of Willy Loman. This study is a bit different from traditional one as it is mainly concerned with the central male character, Willy Loman, a salesman who has to shoulder the responsibility of the family. The family consists of Willy's wife. Linda Loman and two sons. Happy Loman and Biff Loman. Linda is a devoted wife but, unconsciously does not understand that Willy also requires physical involvement for she is often seen busy with her chores. As for his sons, both are far from the bitter reality of life and have dreamful approach towards life. At the age of sixty, when it is the age of retirement, he has to travel far and wide to sell his things. The indifference of the sons, ignorance of Linda and overload of responsibility make him frustrated and disappointed. His disillusionment and emotional crisis are comparable to those of Shakespeare's King Lear and Macbeth. Finally, Willy's frustration and disappointment hasten his tragic death.