GHOSTS OF THE PAST:

A look at absent characters in modern drama

In Tenesse Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire”

and Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”, absent

characters are used to not only provide exposition,

but also to set up the tragic downfall of the

protagonist and to further the themes through

expressionism.

EXPOSITION

Absent characters have a significant impact

on the behaviours, attitudes, and aspirations of the

protagonists in both Death of a Salesman and A

Streetcar Named Desire

ALLEN GREY

the catalyst for Blanche’s delusions

romanced and married Blanche as part of his manipulation to mask his own sexuality

Blanche’s promiscuity also sprouts from the fact that she is missing and grieving for

her idealistic and naive romance.

“I’ve got to be good—and keep my hands off children.” Blanche’s flirtatious nature

with young men seem to indicate her inability to forget Allen Grey, who was “just a

boy” when she married him.

Ironically, this scene also reveals her hypocritical nature – she is just as lustful as

Stanley is under her genteel façade. Her illusions of innocent love mask her obsession

to be “desired” by a man.

“I don’t want realism – I want magic!” – reveals Blanche’s escapist quality

THE DUBOIS FAMILY

represent the grandeur and that Blanche seeks

Belle Reve seems like paradise, as the title indicates; a “good dream”

Eunice remarks that it must be filled with “tall, white columns.”

Now just an illusion, like Blanche’s fantasies about her own disposition

The death of the Dubois family represents the destruction of Blanche’s ideals

“All of those deaths! The long parade to the graveyard! Father! Mother! Margaret, that dreadful way! So

big with it, it couldn’t be put in a coffin! But had to be burned like rubbish! You just came home in time for

the funerals. Funerals are quiet, but death–not always.”

Blanche compares death (abstract, unkown) with a funeral (concrete) which she describes is better,

comforted with flowers.

“How in hell do you think all that sickness and dying was paid for? Death is expensive, Miss Stella!…Why,

the Grim Reaper had put up his tent on our doorstep!”

It seems as if death has touched Blanche in a way – she is fading in her physical beauty as well as her

sanity.

MR. LOMAN

Willy lacks memories of his father

He made and sold flutes

was a traveller

“he’d toss the whole family into the wagon and then he’d drive the team

right across the country; through Ohio and Indiana Michigan, Illinois, and all

the Western states.”

left Willy when he was three and a half

The absence of a father’s presence seems to have had negatively impacted

Willy. He is filled with self-doubt and feels doubtful raising his own kids

probably due to the fact that he was barely raised by his own father.

FLUTE

represents the value of a good that can be sold

contrasts Willy and his father’s capability

Willy has only an elementary understanding of the

products, while his father can take pride in the

instruments he sells.

SIGNIFICANCE

Absent characters have such a lasting impression on the central

characters because they are only memories. Blanche and Willy

cannot question, fight, or reason with these characters because

they are essentially gone. And the protagonists are trapped in the

past and must battle with the problems alone. In short, everything

the audience is able to pick out from absent characters is that they

provide background contexts of protagonists. They allow us to have

some sort of understanding why Blanche is a pretentious escapist

and why Willy is unable to turn away from the American Dream.

ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS THE AUTHORS OF

THEIR OWN MISFORTUNES OR VICTIMS OF THE

INFLUENCE OF ACs?

"ARE WE WHO WE SAY WE ARE OR ARE WE THE

PRODUCTS OF OTHERS?"

TRAGEDY

Absent characters in both plays drive the tragic downfall of the

protagonist through their absence from the action of the play;

this absence allows them to haunt both Blanche DuBois and Willy

Loman without allowing closure, thereby preventing them from

functioning as “normal” people

The protagonists also place their hope for salvation in

characters not actually present, and are therefore shattered

when these missing characters abandon them to fend for

themselves.

BEN LOMAN

Not following Ben to Alaska is a constant regret for

Willy; he feels as if Ben left him to conquer the

American Dream himself, and is unable to get over

this abandonment

This is shown through Ben’s continual presence in

Willy’s personal dialogue, despite the fact that Ben

has been entirely absent from Willy’s adult life

“I’ve got to go” [picking up his valise]…Goodbye, William.”

(Miller 65/66)

Short sentences indicate general disinterest; Willy feels as

though Ben doesn’t care about him, and is constantly leaving him-

this is obvious in his comparatively long, rambling sentences

where he tries to extend their time together

Formality of “William” (as opposed to Willy) indicates distance

but also the hope that Ben views Willy as an adult of equal

stature.

BILL OLIVER

Absence from the action allows Willy’s hope for the

future to be entirely shattered, through shattering

Biff’s hope for a loan and then being unavailable to

explain it to Willy

“How did I even get the idea I was a salesman for

him…I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life

has been.” (Miller 81)

“Say you got a lunch date with Oliver tomorrow…Dad is never

so happy as when he’s looking forward to something.” (Miller 82)

False hope created by kids because Oliver let them down but

can’t say he did

Juxtaposition: Biff is miserable over having to lie but Happy is

overjoyed because his Dad will never have to know the truth

(ignorance is bliss); however its precisely the false hope that puts

the final nail in Willy Loman’s coffin

ALLEN GREY

Suicide caused Blanche to feel entirely abandoned and unwanted, which leads to

lifelong flashbacks of Polka music in addition to other hallucinations.

“Then somebody caught my arm…Allen! The Grey boy! He’d stuck a revolver in his

mouth and fired… And then the searchlight which had been turned on the world was

turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light stronger

then this – kitchen – candle…”

Blanche’s world without her husband is dark (lonely, void of hope.) After he leaves her,

she feels entirely lost, and seeks the company of men which continually lets her down,

as she falls in love with each one. Blanche knows this is wrong (“a girl alone in the

world has got to keep a firm hold on her emotions or she’ll be lost” (Williams 87)) but

can’t help it as she already feels more broken than anyone could ever hope to fix.

SHEP HUNTLEIGH

Absence leaves Blanche waiting for things to get better and they never

do

Inability/unwillingness to communicate allows her to continue living a lie

rather than taking action to improve the situation

“Just when I thought my luck had begun to fail me – …Into the picture

pops this Miami millionaire!” (Williams 124)

Blanche refuses to admit how desperate her situation is; later, when

Stanely tells her the truth, she begins screaming (“Oh!”) as if she is in

physical pain.

Believing her own lies only made the truth harsher.

Absent characters help further the protagonist’s fears of

abandonment (in the case of Allen Grey and Ben Loman)

and build up false hope (in the case of Shep Huntleigh

and Bill Oliver) which conclude in the truth being so much

harder to accept.

Having this truth exposed eventually snaps the already

fragile psyches of both tragic heroes, bringing about their

downfall.

Is Ben Loman an absent character? Why or why

not?

How would having these characters appear in the

action affect the impact of the play? Would it be

more or less effective?

EXPRESSIONISM THROUGH ABSENT CHARACTERS

Absent characters also further develop

expressionism within the two plays

Blanche’s suffering is highlighted through this as

well as Willy’s dreams of being successful

EXPRESSIONISM IN “A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE”

Allan Grey’s story is told from Blanche’s point of view

The audience feels more sympathy for Blanche because of this;

the play becomes more subjective

If Allan told the story, audience might not understand that

Blanche tried her best to help and would sympathize more with

Allan

“He came to me for help. … all I knew was I’d failed him in some

mysterious way… He was in the quick sands and clutching at me…

I was slipping in with him!” –Blanche, Williams 95

AMBITION AND SUCCESS IN DEATH OF A SALESMAN

Ben is used throughout the play to portray Willy’s hopes and

dreams

Willy dwells on the memory of when Ben told him and his boys

how he became a millionaire

“Why boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and

when I was twenty-one I walked out. … And by God I was rich.” –

Ben, page 33

Using memory to express Willy’s desires shows what’s really

important to Willy: wealth and success

DEVELOPING CORE THEMES

Absent characters further develop major themes in

the plays

These themes include self-delusion, dependence on

others, wealth and success, and satisfying parental

expectations

BLANCHE’S NAÏVETÉ

By speaking of Shep Huntleigh, Blanche reveals

her self-delusions

She continuously puts her hope into other people

but they cannot help her

“As a matter of fact there wasn’t no wire at all!” –

Stanley, page 127

But naïve Blanche still believes in “the kindness of

others”

THE LOMANS’ ULTIMATE FAILURE

Willy’s dream is for himself as well as his sons to be great

renowned businessmen who are rich, powerful, and well-liked

However, they could never achieve that goal. This is portrayed

through the absent character Bill Oliver

Oliver didn’t talk to Biff when he went to meet him. He didn’t even

recognize Biff! This shows that a life such as Oliver’s is out of the

reach of the Lomans’

“He walked away. I saw him for one minute. I got so mad I

could’ve torn the walls down!” –Biff, page 81

SATISFYING PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS

Biff constantly tries to make Willy proud but fails.

Through stealing Oliver’s fountain pen, Biff hopes

to steal some of Oliver’s wealth for his father.

Willy is still angry but Biff continues to try to make

him happy.

“Dad, I’ll make good, I’ll make good.” –Biff, page 8

How are absent characters in Death of a Salesman

used to portray the ways in which Biff and Happy are

following in their father’s footsteps? In what ways

does the theme of “meeting expectations” also apply

to Blanche’s life, and how do absent characters

affect her behaviour?