Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?
The Relationship Between Martha and George
Edward Albee was an American playwright producer and director. He was born on March 12, 1928 probably in Virginia. He was adopted at an early age, which influenced him to write about characters that are different. His writings were characterized by realism; fidelity to life as perceived and experienced, and were considered to be absurd dramas. Albee, in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, portrays a primitive sex struggle between a middle aged couple; the relationship between George and Martha is acted out in a series of games in which one sex dominates the other through unapparent love, weapons that each have mastered, and the most hurtful insult, the revealing of the hidden truth. The unapparent love for one another is one of the most interesting aspects of George and Martha's relationship. Throughout the play this point is brought out in some of the most memorable scenes. At the end of the play, when George triumphs in the battle, he shows sympathy towards his wife even though he has regrets about revealing the truth about their hypothetical son. Each understand and appreciate one another even though each is a tortured person. In Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Martha states "George who is good to me, and whom I revile, who understands me, and whom I push off; who can make me laugh, and can choke it back in my throat, who can hold me at night, so that it's warm.... who keeps learning the games we play as quickly as I can change the rules; who can make me happy", she continues, "George who tolerates, which is intolerable, who is kind, which is cruel, who understands, which is beyond comprehension" (191). Gassner notes in Best American Plays "Their most violent attacks are not without a loving component and each provides the other with the opportunity for expressing these ambivalent feelings"(148)."Their relationship is an incredible inferno of sado-masochism" (148). After Martha commits
Edward Albee was an American playwright producer and director. He was born on March 12, 1928 probably in Virginia. He was adopted at an early age, which influenced him to write about characters that are different. His writings were characterized by realism; fidelity to life as perceived and experienced, and were considered to be absurd dramas. Albee, in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, portrays a primitive sex struggle between a middle aged couple; the relationship between George and Martha is acted out in a series of games in which one sex dominates the other through unapparent love, weapons that each have mastered, and the most hurtful insult, the revealing of the hidden truth. The unapparent love for one another is one of the most interesting aspects of George and Martha's relationship. Throughout the play this point is brought out in some of the most memorable scenes. At the end of the play, when George triumphs in the battle, he shows sympathy towards his wife even though he has regrets about revealing the truth about their hypothetical son. Each understand and appreciate one another even though each is a tortured person. In Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Martha states "George who is good to me, and whom I revile, who understands me, and whom I push off; who can make me laugh, and can choke it back in my throat, who can hold me at night, so that it's warm.... who keeps learning the games we play as quickly as I can change the rules; who can make me happy", she continues, "George who tolerates, which is intolerable, who is kind, which is cruel, who understands, which is beyond comprehension" (191). Gassner notes in Best American Plays "Their most violent attacks are not without a loving component and each provides the other with the opportunity for expressing these ambivalent feelings"(148)."Their relationship is an incredible inferno of sado-masochism" (148). After Martha commits