Reality Check in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
Edward Albee’s play seems to bring forth all aspects of life in the 60’s, materialism, plastic appearances, and overconsumption of alcohol to help bring about the true nature of the characters. We have evolved with time, but the social and personal problems we face within ourselves and therefore in relationships today has for the most part, remained the same. The human condition to persevere our appearance has only become stronger with the growth and use of technology and social media. In public, there may be a way we purposely project ourselves in social situations to leave a good impression like George and Martha probably seemed like a perfectly happy couple on the outside to all the other faculty members who attended the party but once they were in a private setting, they took off their masks. In a time when divorce was not nearly as prevalent as it is today, that was a sight to behold.
Couples stayed together despite whatever difficulties they would face because essentially divorce was socially unacceptable. Amongst the foremost points made during this play was the fact that George just wasn’t living up to Martha’s expectations and clearly feels like a bit of a failure, having lost the position of head of the history department. This was present throughout the play suggesting that it had been a significant topic in the couple’s martial issues. This lack of success on George’s part was also evident from the way he treated the young and upcoming Biology professor Nick, his apparent contempt looked as if it would stem from the possibility that Nick had a far better shot at becoming what George never may be as far as being competitive and driven. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The meaning of the title, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the song usually goes, “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” Virginia Woolf was an English writer during the first half of the twentieth century. As a woman writer during the Victorian Era in England, Virginia Woolf was oppressed by the patriarchal society where women’s intellectuality was condescended without any question. In the excerpt taken from one of her writings, readers can clearly see her attitude towards the female role during her time. Woolf describes two different meals served during a university visit; one in the male’s college, the other in a woman’s. Here, she successfully juxtaposes the two roles through the narrative structure, diction and tone, revealing the injustice and the lack of educational opportunity for women. The author purposely structures the men’s meal in the first passage, followed by the women’s meal in the second to show the readers the difference between the two, employing a distinct mode of speech in each.
In the first passage, she describes the glamorous “luncheon part(y)” at the men’s college. Here, the partridges come with all their “retinue of sauces and salads… the sharp and the sweet.” The wineglasses are emptied and filled. Readers cannot help but be sucked into a world of glamour, where “all go to Heaven.” Moreover, people find “no need to be anybody but oneself.” In other words, there is no need to struggle to become someone important because everyone already is. Men are automatically put in a higher position, just because they are men. They enjoy the “succulent” food, and there is “no need to hurry”; even time takes a different pace. Furthermore, “brilliant” comments are unnecessary since they all possess a “more profound” glow… the glow of wisdom. Men are the society and in the setting of this passage (college, symbolizing education), they are offered the best of all educational opportunities.
Truth and illusion – done
The inability to communicate with eachother
Sex sterility and impotence
Games and psychological gamesmanship
Marriage parental relationships and family
Death murder
History vs science (past vs. future)
American values
What is the big reversal at the end?
Power of reversal?
What did you learn about the relationship at the end of the play? The relationship grows increasily violent until George kills their son metaphorically
Past honeys false pregnancy deception – the past