Meaning of who is afraid of virginia woolf

Both he and Warner Bros. Surely Bette was better suited to play an overbearing something-ish harridan — and she would have no doubt devoured the role by unhinging her jaw and swallowing it, and everyone else, whole. Taylor, the most famous and beautiful woman in the world, then 34, had just scandalized said world with her whirlwind romance with Burton.

Determined to prove herself as an actress, and impress Burton, she threw herself into the role of Martha, gaining 30 lbs and allowing her glamour to be obfuscated by the hair and makeup departments. They play these sick, twisted games with Honey and Nick to escape their bleak reality; building fantasies that become reality when the liquor has flowed too long. Unable to have children of their own, George and Martha invented one, a son.

We can assume that the violence, like many of their other activities, is merely another vicious game that they occupy themselves with throughout their dismal marriage.

George and Martha not only delight and disgust themselves by attacking each other. George views Nick as a threat to his job, even though Nick teaches biology — not history. Later on in the evening, George uses that information to hurt the young couple. Similarly, Martha takes advantage of Nick by seducing him at the end of Act Two. She does this mainly to hurt George, who has been denying her physical affection throughout the evening.

George also preys upon Honey. He discovers her secret fear of having children — and possibly her miscarriages or abortions. He cruelly asks her:. By the end of the evening, she declares she wants to have a child. This upsets and annoys George.

Martha hints that George is upset because he is not certain that the child is his. George confidently denies this, stating that if he is certain of anything, he is confident of his connection to the creation of their son. By the end of the play, Nick learns the shocking and bizarre truth.

George and Martha do not have a son. They were unable to conceive children — a fascinating contrast between Nick and Honey who apparently can but do not have children. Even though the son is a fictional entity, great thought has been put into his creation. George seems to have approved of all of these fictional accounts; in all likelihood, he has assisted with their creation.

However, a creative fork-in-the-road appears when they discuss the boy as a young man. George believes that his imaginary son still loves him, still writes him letters, in fact. You mentioned him. I forget and I. I hold on. I mentioned him. The meaning of Senses versus Interpretation is explored in the relationship of George and Martha. The second largest thematic example is personal appearance.

These people are your guests, you know, and. A son. After getting a drink for Martha, George starts to make himself one. A vague afterthought.

Now I want you to get yourself a little alert. Slaps her lightly with his free hand I want a little life in you, baby. What do you want, George? American life and self-confidence, which had perhaps been at its peak in the s, was beginning to look like a double-edged sword: cosy and comfortable on the outside, but playing host as it were to some darker and more worrying secrets and anxieties. The ritualistic element is even apparent in the pagan and religious titles given to the different acts of the play, e.

Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in the question of whether George and Martha actually have a son at all. Just as the couple have no children yet their imaginary son is the heart and soul of their conflicted relationship, so America is looking to its future — the space race which Kennedy had begun the decade by championing — while ignoring the problems and challenges closer to home.

The eventual title came from a bar which Albee frequented, where patrons would leave graffiti, written in soap, on a large mirror. Image: via Wikimedia Commons. Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email.