Willy Loman's Deterioration : From a Psychoanalytical Perspective

Abstract: This essay will analyze the protagonist of Arthur Miller’s, Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, from a psychoanalytical perspective. The purpose is to establish the reason for his suicide. The thesis is that Willy Loman seems to have developed a narcissistic and borderline personality disorder and as a consequence his mentality was affected and that led him to commit suicide. Willy Loman is a self-centered man who has an obsession with success both as a salesman but also as a husband and a father, in such a way that his mental health is questioned. This suggests that his final decision to commit suicide has been affected by some type of mental disorder that derives from his neuroses. Therefore, Willy Loman’s behavior will be investigated by using Freud’s psychoanalytical theory of neuroses and mental disorders.