Theatre is not only a form of entertainment, confirming what is already known, but also a source of inspiration, which provokes analysis of what is considered to be of oneself. Terrence Smith and Mike Miller summed up this idea in the following statement: “The purpose of theater is not to define thought but to provoke it. » Scattered throughout American history are examples of plays that truly embody this quote; the 1950s produced two of these pieces. Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller in 1949, follows an aging salesman who fails to realize his dream of being rich and famous. Written in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun focuses on an African-American family's struggles with money and identity. Through the supportive characters of Linda Loman and Ruth Younger, Miller and Hansberry illustrate how wives often suppress their own dreams to support those of their husbands, suggesting that wives' dreams must be deferred in order to maintain a stable marriage. , Linda Loman's devotion to her husband consumes her, to the point that she has no meaning in life without him. Willy Loman, Linda's husband, is one of New York's traveling salesmen. Even though he is over sixty, Willy continues to work, hoping to become famous and rich, and thus successful. As the years go by, Willy becomes more and more unpredictable, lashing out at his wife and sons when they fail to meet his expectations. Despite Willy's abuse, Linda remains "most often jovial" because "she has developed an iron repression of her exceptions to Willy's behavior – she loves him more than loves him, she admires him, as if his nature changeable, his temperament, his immense dreams and his few cruelties, only served as acute reminders of the turbulent desires with...... middle of paper... death. Ruth Younger's dedication to bringing her husband's idea for a liquor store to fruition surprises Walter himself. both women also present a darker side of this method for a stable marriage. Linda is a widow who has no idea how to live the rest of her life since she gave up on her dreams a long time ago. Ruth suffers from depression because of these actions. » She takes it. From these two pieces, we realize the need for a new definition of “stable marriage”. Rather than being a relationship that lasts a long time due to few disagreements, a successful marriage should be one where both spouses achieve a certain outcome. of their dreams, no matter their differences. The female half of the human species cannot continue to make all the sacrifices to satisfy the males; This balance isn't a "balance" at all, prompting wonder as to how marriages have survived this way for so long.