Before one even reaches a minute into reading The Death of a Salesman (1949), a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by American playwright Arthur Miller, there is a pervasive emotion that is felt from the beginning and carried to the end of the play: the complete exhaustion of all the characters. Exhaustion, for these characters, is not just experienced after a demanding workday or a traumatic event; it lingers with the characters as though it’s a constant emotion, always hovering. From the instant they wake to the moment they fall asleep, their exhaustion seeps into everything around them—the world, the people, and most of all, from the weight of simply being. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression in the 1930s, the play’s recurring themes of anxiety, exhaustion, and insecurity continue to resonate in today’s world, especially as Egypt grapples with an ongoing economic crisis and rising costs that are stretching many families to their limits. Arthur Miller himself, the author, was deeply affected by the economic turmoil in the US, and came face to face with the harsh realities of the Depression as he struggled to make ends meet, taking…
Why Egyptians Are More Exhausted Than Ever: Insights from Arthur Miller’s Play
October 22, 2024
