Sharia Benn
In a letter to a fan in 1990, Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “It can’t be said often enough, ‘It is the woman who pays.’ The miracle is that so many can and so somehow… I told [my wife] one time, ‘I worry about women.’ She said, ‘Don’t.’”
This sentiment certainly echoes the themes present in Arthur Miller’s 1949 play “Death of a Salesman,” presented this month by Gamut Theatre Group. The play explores family and the “American Dream” and the complicated relationships, expectations and disappointments that come with it. Sharia Benn, the actress playing Linda Loman, the wife and mother in the play, says, “With all of the tragedies of life in the play, it is a celebration of being a part of a family.”
The American Dream can be summarized as: Anyone has the opportunity of success, no matter your place in society. All it takes is dedication and hard work to achieve prosperity and upward mobility. With the capitalist mindset, the middle-class American man could have the perfect life with a house, car, children and white-picket fence. This concept is clearly centered around men. Men brought home the money because they had the jobs, they provided for their families, and everyone was happy. Right?
“Death of a Salesman” explores how problematic this ideology is not only to the family, but to personal identity and to women, specifically. Benn’s character, Linda, plays a large role in that. With a husband and two sons, her role is centered around domestic stability. The family is about to make the last payment on their house, the boys have ideas on how they can help the family thrive, and her husband struggles with a constant paranoia that the reason for his perceived failure is because he is not well-liked. He holds strongly to values taught by the American Dream, yet is still not coming out ahead. All of the men are attempting to achieve success through being popular, making money or having social dignity. Meanwhile, Linda is keeping everything afloat. She plays the role of mother, wife and caretaker, but she fulfills so much more than that for the characters and for the plot.
“She does this amazing job of pulling it all together and making everyone else pull it together, too,” Benn said of her character.
In a way, Miller’s critique of the American Dream and its surface attractiveness is also held by Linda. She is representative of the importance of personal value and truth over monetary gains and is the character given the most power, as she is the only one who has the opportunity to change.
Indeed, Linda is always focused on others, the antithesis of the American Dream, which values individuality and self-reliance. Miller gives her the opportunity to express dismay about the way society tricks men into believing that the keys to success are measured in monetary gains. In Act 1, she says, “The man who never worked a day but for your benefit. When does he get the medal for that?” Benn agrees that Linda’s invaluable worth is in her ability to humanize her family as a method of protection.
“She understands what it is to be human and how fragile we are as individuals, and what I love about this play is that Miller allows, through Linda, the audience to unpack that through the family as a whole,” said Benn.
And are women overlooked or minimized for their role in the “man’s world” of the American dream?
“Miller is intentionally showing how men in society cut women off and disregard them, but, when they are in need, when something is happening, when there’s a problem that needs solved, they look to the woman,” she said. “And she holds it down.”
It is true that women are often the overlooked grounding force of plays in this era, and Linda has the benefit of understanding that her role goes beyond this moment, that her actions have consequences beyond her control, and that the most important thing is for her to be accepting of her own hardships. There is a reason why Miller makes Linda, one of the only women in the play, the only character able to do this. There is a reason he begins and ends the play with her. Benn muses that there really should have been a sequel, where we get to hear Linda’s story.
For this period of American ideology, the death of the salesman is imminent, inevitable even, but the life of the woman is the direct result. It is the woman who pays—Vonnegut remains true—but Miller drives home the fact that the women can take it, and do. Benn’s Linda sure does. Her lines at the end of the play have a lot of depth.
“I made the last payment on the house today… and there’ll be nobody home… We’re free… We’re free…” she states.
Free of the grasps of the life led during the play that causes each male figure to doubt himself and how he interacts with his world based on a warped concept of success that was fed to him his entire life.
“Death of a Salesman” will be performed Nov. 5 to 27 at Gamut Theatre, 15 N. 4th St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.gamuttheatre.org.
Upcoming theater events at Harrisburg’s professional downtown theaters
At Gamut Theatre
www.gamuttheatre.org
“Death of A Salesman” by Arthur Miller
Nov. 5 to 27
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
Doors and bar open one hour prior to performance
Tickets are $30 on Fridays and Saturdays and “Bring Your Own Price” on Sundays.
“A Popcorn Hat Christmas Carol”
Nov. 30 to Dec. 17
Saturdays at 1 p.m.
Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. available by request for groups of 20 or more.
Tickets $8
At Open Stage of Harrisburg
www.openstagehbg.com
“A Christmas Carol”
Dec. 2 to 23
A new dazzling production of the Charles Dickens classic
Tickets $15 to $35
“The Santaland Diaries”
David Sedaris’ irreverent comedy Crumpet the Elf is on tour!
Sundays, Dec. 4 & 11 at Federal Taphouse
Dec. 9, 20 & 22 at Open Stage with Santa’s Little Helpers Improv opening
Tickets $20 to $35
Author: Meghan Jones
