The profile of LINDA LOMAN
By India Bevan and
Avygayle Smith
Introduction...
Today we will be presenting you with the profile of Linda Loman, hopefully answering any questions that you have about her. We aim to help your understanding of who she is and why she is a significant character in the play.
Linda Loman....
Being introduced to Linda...
How is Linda introduced in the play?
- Linda is introduced at the beginning of the play through Miller's precise stage directions. The audience are told that Linda is the wife of Willy Loman and the mother of Biff and Happy Loman.
Linda's actions and behaviour...
Linda(hearing Willy outside the bedroom, calls with some trepidation):Willy!
- This shows that Linda is worried in a caring manner as Willy has just got back from a long journey being unsuccessful and his wife is seen to be a nurturing, caring lady. Linda is the peacemaker in the Loman family- she keeps the family bonding together.
Linda(calling after Willy): 'Be careful on the stairs, dear!"
Linda's actions and behaviour
- At the beginning of the play, Linda's support towards Willy is seen as damaging because 'she has developed an iron repression of her exceptions to Willy's behaviour', implying that she keeps her feelings in about Willy's ambitions and dreams as she wants him to be hopeful.
- Linda tries to share in Willy's ideals, and suffers great torment as she observes Willy's decline knowing that she is unable to help.
Important note!!!!
Take notice of the different ways that Linda speaks to different characters in the play.
For example, when she speaks to her sons Biff and Happy, she is very confident and stern with them. However, when Linda talks to her husband, she speaks 'very carefully,delicately', as if she is walking on glass -that she is talking to Willy like an old,frail man ( but in reality it's his troubled mental state).
Important note!!!!!
'I don't say he's a great man... Attention must be paid.. a small man can be just as exhausted as a great man'
Key quote
Linda comes across as fully defending Willy, standing up for him - that she always wants to protect him. She insists that there is no difference between a 'small man' (being ordinary and doing nothing extroadinary) and a 'great man'. Linda thinks ' attention must be paid' to those who work hard , who are ordinary that don't get any recognition.
Linda's speech
- One of Linda's most important moments of speech
- ' He drives seven hundred miles, and when he gets there no one knows him anymore, no one welcomes him'. Makes you feel sympathy for Willy.
- Repetition of lots of questions, short questions especially to show Linda's anger and frustration.
- The fact that her speech is long could suggest she is overwhelmed.
Linda's strengths and weaknesses
Linda's strengths and weaknesses
- Linda's strengths- she is a kind, caring and compassionate character and cares for whom she loves. She is fully devoted to Willy.
- Linda's weaknesses- she represents the harsh reality which Willy doesn't realise.
- Linda is extremely close to her husband .
- We see this through the dialogue of Willy and Linda:
- Linda (with youthful energy) Hello dear!
Willy: Sweetheart!
- Linda is close with her sons Biff and Happy but favours Biff.
Linda's relationship with others...
Is Linda compared and contrasted with another character?
Linda is a contrast to Willy. She is highly innocent and doesn't do things like cheat or lie.
Comparing and contrasting
Linda doesn't change much. She stays pretty consistent, considerate and naive.
How does Linda change during the play?
How does Linda end?
Linda doesn't get a happy ending. She shows idle selfishness which shows that she has finally been broken.
- Reality
- Naivety
- Trust
- Innocence/ purity
What key themes/ ideas are presented through Linda?
Linda is a 'good' person, contrasts against Willy to make what he does seem worse than it actually is.
What is the significance of Linda?
Linda makes the audience feel sympathy and understanding.
What impact does she have on the audience?
How does Linda link to the context of the play?
- Past vs present- certain things Linda says/does causes Willy to have mobile concurrencies.
What aspects of tragedy are in Linda?
Linda has a 'good' start, giving an illusion of a good life- the start of a downfall.
- ''To me you are. The handsomest'
- ' But he's a human being'
- ' How can i insult him like that?'
- 'A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man'
Key quotes:
What Linda does:
Key summary
- represents a 1950s housewife
- tried to protect Willy to help (unsuccessfully prevent his downfall)
- develops and exaggerates themes of infidelity.
THANK YOU FOR WATCHING! WE HOPE TO HAVE ANSWERED YOUR QUESTIONS ON LINDA LOMAN!
thank you for watching!