Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf Questions and Answers. Later on in the evening, George uses that information to hurt the young couple. She confesses her fear of Virginia Woolf, her fear of living a life facing reality. George believes that his imaginary son still loves him, still writes him letters, in fact. A list of all the characters in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. She is married to George, though disappointed with his aborted academic career. It is perhaps the first time she reveals her weakness, and perhaps George is finally unveiling his strength with his willingness to dismantle their illusions. He claims that the “boy” was smothered by Martha and that he could not take living with her anymore. Synopsis. This upsets and annoys George. She feels he is “a blank, a cipher.” She often tells the young guests, Nick and Honey, that her husband had so many chances to succeed professionally, yet he has failed throughout his life.
George seems to have approved of all of these fictional accounts; in all likelihood, he has assisted with their creation. Martha believes that her imaginary son resents George’s failures. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? George is a sad man. Virginia Woolf was a brilliant writer and women’s rights advocate. He softly sings, “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf,” while she leans against him. It also does not help that George and Martha appear to be “full-blown” alcoholics. In the first few moments of the play, it is revealed that someone sang the song earlier in the evening at … However, Martha’s erotic pursuits are left unfulfilled. Then again, perhaps not. In Albee’s stage directions, he instructs that the final scene is played “very softly, very slowly.” Martha reflectively asks if George had to extinguish the dream of their son. Nick has just become a new member of the biology faculty at New Carthage University. She frequently mentions her “great” father, and how humiliating it is to be paired with a mediocre “associate professor” instead of the head of the History department. They were unable to conceive children – a fascinating contrast between Nick and Honey who apparently can (but do not) have children. She claims that the “boy” doubted being related to George.
In addition, she sought to live her life without false illusions. They each pretended that the child would have loved the one and despised the other. Then, in later years of their marriage, they turned their illusionary son against one another. He's got plenty of reason to be. Wade Bradford, M.A., is an award-winning playwright and theater director. Martha and George function by insulting and verbally attacking one another. The Question and Answer section for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. The imaginary child reveals a deep intimacy between these now bitterly disappointed characters. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser.
Yet, when George asks if Martha is all right, she replies, “Yes. Martha is constantly reminding George of his failures. The final conversation is a bit hopeful. By the play’s end, each audience member is left to wonder, “Do I create false illusions of my own?”. By Edward Albee. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. George. She is 26 years old, has a weak stomach, and is not the brightest bulb of the bunch. from Walt Disney's animated version of The Three Little Pigs. The guests slowly realize the truth, and they finally depart, leaving George and Martha to wallow in their self-inflicted misery. Honey is the petite, bland wife of Nick. He cruelly asks her: By the end of the evening, she declares she wants to have a child. Perhaps she does not believe that they can be happy together, but she accepts the fact that they can continue their lives together, for whatever it is worth. They’ll be lucky if they can remember a small portion of the evening’s events! He softly sings, “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf,” while she leans against him. Sometimes the insults generate laughter: There can be affection in their castigation.
Martha cries and rages. Perhaps Martha’s bitterness stems from her own desire for success.
George and Martha are intoxicated and it’s two o’clock in the morning. He discovers her secret fear of having children – and possibly her miscarriages or abortions. Martha is the 52-year-old daughter of the president of New Carthage University. chronicles a long night’s journey into dawn with George and Martha, arguably the most singularly vicious married couple in the history of the American theater. Certainly, the tumultuous characters George and Martha are lost in their drunken, everyday illusions. 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' Perhaps Nick and Honey have learned a lesson – perhaps their marriage will avoid such disrepair. He is 28 years old, good-looking, Midwestern, and clean-cut. How did playwright Edward Albee come up with the title for this play? For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Characters. Pretending to be a friendly drinking buddy, George listens as Nick confesses that he and his wife became married because of a “hysterical pregnancy” and because Honey’s father is wealthy. He's got plenty of reason to be. She's definitely not the brightest bulb in the... © 2020 Shmoop University Inc | All Rights Reserved | Privacy | Legal. They must have spent years together, whispering various fantasies of parenthood, dreams that would never come true for either of them. George confidently denies this, stating that if he is certain of anything, he is confident of his connection to the creation of their son. Martha is definitely one of the most vicious characters in … It is perhaps the first time she reveals her weakness, and perhaps George is finally unveiling his strength with his willingness to dismantle their illusions. Characters include:George,Martha,Nick,Honey The play begins with the middle-aged couple, George and Martha, returning from a faculty party arranged by George’s father-in-law (and employer), the president of the small New England college.
George also preys upon Honey.
George is married to Martha, in a once loving relationship now defined by sarcasm and frequent acrimony. In some cases, he purposefully breaks a bottle to show his rage. She confesses her fear of Virginia Woolf, her fear of living a life facing reality. Because the rights to the Disney song are expensive, most stage versions, and the film, have Martha sing to the tune of "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush", a melody that fits the meter fairly well and is in the public domain. He tells Martha that their son was killed in a car accident. However, a creative fork-in-the-road appears when they discuss the boy as a young man. Martha shares specific details about the delivery, the child’s physical appearance, his experiences at school and summer camp, and his first broken limb. Nick is too intoxicated to perform, and Martha insults him by calling him a “flop” and a “houseboy.”. He is married to Honey. The play's title, which alludes to the English novelist Virginia Woolf, is also a reference to the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" They also take a cynical pleasure in breaking down the naïve married couple. Even though the son is a fictional entity, great thought has been put into his creation. According to a 1966 interview in the Paris Review, Albee found the question scrawled in soap on the bathroom of a New York bar. For starters he's married to Martha, a... Martha. By the end of the play, Nick learns the shocking and bizarre truth. But that won’t stop them from entertaining two guests, the college’s new biology professor and his “mousy” wife. George and Martha do not have a son. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. She does this mainly to hurt George, who has been denying her physical affection throughout the evening. So then, the question of the play’s title becomes: “Who is afraid of facing reality?” And the answer is: Most of us. George is a sad man. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' Characters, "A Raisin in the Sun" Act Two, Scene One Summary and Study Guide, Understand the Major Themes of 'Much Ado About Nothing', Plot Summary of "The Seagull" by Anton Chekhov, Act 1 Plot Summary of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons", Character Analysis of Moliere's Comedy Tartuffe, M.A., Literature, California State University - Northridge, B.A., Creative Writing, California State University - Northridge. In the first act (“Fun and Games”), they careen home at two o’clock in the morning, drunk from a late-night faculty party. No.” This implies that there is a mixture of agony and resolution. George and Martha not only delight and disgust themselves by attacking each other. After all, the characters have consumed a huge amount of alcohol. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from Shmoop and verify that you are over the age of 13. She explains that the boy was a balance between George’s weakness and her “necessary greater strength.”.
If not for Nick forcing them apart, George might have become a murderer. However, most of the time they seek to hurt and degrade one another. A Character Analysis. Inspired by August Strindberg’s Dance of Death, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
A 46-year-old member of the history department at New Carthage University. For starters he's married to Martha, a... Martha is definitely one of the most vicious characters in the history of dramatic literature.... Nick is the young, handsome professor who has the misfortune of being tormented for an evening by... Honey is the mousy, slim-hipped wife of Nick. After George and Martha are left to themselves, a quiet, calm moment befalls the main characters. He wrote and directed seven productions for Yorba Linda Civic Light Opera's youth theater. In Act One, George warns Martha not to “bring up the kid.” Martha scoffs at his warning, and ultimately the topic of their son comes up into conversation. And yet, Martha does not seem surprised by George’s outburst of brutality.
Visit BN.com to buy new and used textbooks, and check out our award-winning NOOK tablets and eReaders. George believes it was time, and that now the marriage will be better without games and illusions.
In the final line, George actually becomes affectionate. In Act Two, when Martha laughs at his failed attempts as a novelist, George grabs her by the throat and chokes her.
George views Nick as a threat to his job, even though Nick teaches biology – not history. Characters; Study Guide.