Linda  by Sandra                The Farmer's Wife, 1922
                              by Miro  "You're my foundation and my support," Willy tells Linda. This is the best description of Linda, at least in Willy's point of view. She is the model of a loving, devoted, patient wife. When she married Willy, his dreams must have seemed like all she ever wanted in life.      Those dreams have turned into a lifetime of frustrations. Disappointed and worried, Willy treats Linda cruelly or insensitively lots of time, which we can easily see in the play. But Linda understands the pain and fear behind his behavior, and forgives him those moments. Miller tells us, "she more than loves him, she admires him." Maybe of this admiration, she is kind of blind. Even if she knew that Willy is doing or thinking something wrong, she forgives him or even supports him. So in this case, she ignores her own opinion, which maybe would be better to Willy and maybe would even change the whole ending. In other words, we can say that she is kind of a traditional woman who obeys her husband all the time. She knows clearly what Willy is doing, but she dare not to stop him, like when she found the tubing. Linda, which we can see, is trying to protect her husband, but actually she is just pushing him to death.      Linda as she was in the past is the way Willy chooses to remember her (as is the case with all the characters when he recalls them). Willy's guilt turns her into an even sweeter and more noble woman, a shining example of a "GOOD WOMAN." We also see that it is Linda who has kept a clear picture of their finances. When Willy boasts of big sales, she gently questions until she learns the truth-never rebuking him for exaggeration (lying). She does the best she can with their meager income to pay their endless bills. She must mange well, for we learn in the Requiem that she has made the final payment on their house and they're "free and clear."      Linda has made a child of her husband, always indulgent and affectionate with him. She senses that Willy is in trouble, and to protect him she is terrifyingly tough on the two grown-up boys. She is a good and understanding mother, but will not tolerate her sons crossing their father. After the boys abandon their father in a restaurant for dates with women they've picked up, she blisteringly attacks both of them: "There's no stranger you'd do that to!"      Linda knows her beloved Willy is a "little man," but she feels he deserves at least the respect of his sons: "Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person." Probably Linda speaks the playwright's attitude toward Willy more than any other character in the play.      Linda is an important character in this play, which affects a lot. She has all these good qualities, but some of them have to be responsible for the conclusion. Back to Character Analyses