Written in the 1960s, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is an expansive, one-of-a-kind, and utterly honest depiction of a family life rife with disappointment. It shows resentment, dysfunctional patterns of communication, and shared trauma. Albee’s absurdist literature masterpiece gives its insightful examination of the contemporary world. It features cutting dialogue by focusing on a dysfunctional couple whose only goal in life appears to be the psychological destruction of one another (Albee 125). This dysfunctional couple’s relationship is at the center of the story. Theatre of the Absurd contextualizes the disarray that affects the social setting of beings due to fantasy and illusion, leading to suffering and departure from principles of actual existence.
George and Martha dominate the play. He appears to be a poor professor at the small New England university where Martha’s dad is president. They have been married for a long time, but to forget their miserable lives, they drink heavily and play cruel word games with each other and anyone who visits their disorganized home. Nick states, “I married her because she was pregnant. … It was a hysterical pregnancy. She blew up, and then she went down” (Albee 47). The play’s central act explores George’s psychological trauma from his failed career. Martha and George express their displeasure in unsettling ways. “Be careful, Martha…I will rip you to pieces” (Albee 61). The husband’s successful career and many promotions and bonuses paint the picture of an ideal American life. A happy, healthy family is affected by this. It depicts the perfect family life envied by acquaintances and strangers.
Martha and George’s marriage lacks this essential element. Martha struggles more than George with George’s professional failure’s marriage stagnation. George says, “the one thing in this whole sinking world that I am sure of is my… chromosomological partnership in the…creation of our…blond-eyed, blue-haired…son.” (Albee 92). Martha wants an enhanced lifestyle and to be the traditional wife of a successful man with a lucrative career. George finds his professional failure’s marriage stagnation very difficult. She is so depressed that he has not advanced in his career that she insults him at every chance. As expected, this setback has made George resent Nick for his accomplishments. “I would not say there was any…particular passion between us, even at the beginning…of our marriage, I mean” (Albee107). Martha has severe mental health issues because she cannot accept that she and George will never have the ideal family life many others have.
Their son symbolizes George and Martha’s apparent conflict. Families need children. A respectable, socially acceptable family cannot exist without them. Absence drives them to verbally assault each other and praise and kill their imagined child. It may prevent even essential marriage consistency. George says, “We got a telegram; he was killed in a car accident” (Albee 36). Their conversations are disorganized, full of illusions and made-up fantasies. Instead of focusing on consequences, each may need to realize what the other lacks to bring them together rationally. Even thinking about the future is difficult because they have not resolved many past traumas and disagreements. They do not prioritize improving their lives and relationships slowly. Their suffering is never-ending and leads them to the point of no return. Martha swears, “I swear…if you existed, I would divorce you…I have not been able to see you for years…you are a blank, a cipher” (Albee 53). George and Martha’s marriage defies the idealized American family.
To sum up, the various characters were left with grief over their loss and apprehension about the future after letting go of the illusions that had kept them going. After the commotion of the first act has subsided and George and Martha, who have both played multiple roles in their marital fight, finally settle into a resemblance: Adam and Eve, after the fall, thinking about a life without illusions, the audience is stunned into silence. The play Who Is Fearful of Virginia Woolf? Gives unflinchingly honest dialogue and characterization, which explores fundamental human and existential issues, marking a radical departure for American drama.
Work Cited
Albee, Edward. Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Dramatists Play Service Inc, 1990.