Arthur Miller, "All My Sons" - Exploration of Kate Keller's Character in Act 1

Kate Keller, Joe’s devoted wife, has hope that her missing son Larry will return one day, and curses Chris - the other son - for wanting to move on from this traumatic experience as well as for wanting to marry Larry’s ex-girlfriend, Ann. In the beginning of the play, when the tree, that they were in a rush to memorialize, blew down, Kate seemed happy as it affirms for her that Larry is still alive. Additionally, she recalls a dream she had last night. When she heard the wind, she imagined that it was Larry flying by in his ‘fighter plane’. Her nightmares, which seem to haunt her much of the time, are no so much premonitions of Larry’s fate; they are instead dark, shadowy summaries of the information she already knows: that Larry has gone missing during a flight in the war. Through her nightmares, it is evident that her delusions about her dead son, Larry, lead to her anxiety, suspicions, as well as to her superstitions. In addition, when Chris tries to prime his mother about Ann’s appearance, Kate is confused as to why Ann is visiting the Keller house. However, she does like the fact that she has not moved on from Larry as usually when many women whose boyfriend has died waste no time in finding a new husband or boyfriend to replace him. This demonstrates, that to Kate it is important that everyone in her life maintain at least the resemblance of waiting for Larry’s return. Therefore, Kate finds unacceptable and not possible Ann moving on from Larry- especially by marrying Chris. This notion, that Larry’s disappearance could magically be fixed, makes Kate’s physiological state, of total expectancy, essentially unbearable. She shows that she does not approve Ann’s and Chris’ relationship by dropping several unflattering hints about Ann’s appearance: “I think her nose got longer” and “You gained a little weight, didn’t you, darling?” This demonstrates that she has a desire for control.