Early in the play, George says "I am preoccupied with history" (Albee 50). George is a humanities professor, but Albee is saying more than that, as the couple's story shows as the play continues. Both characters are products of their childhood, and have never really matured from their childhood, which is why they act like children in their marriage. George has guilt about his parents, and makes up stories about sons who try to kill their parents. Martha was a "daddy's girl" who wanted unconditional love from her father and wanted it from George too. They disappoint each other, and they disappoint themselves. They grew up not feeling strong and good about themselves, and they have carried these feelings into their marriage and their adult lives, when they should be mature enough to leave these childish feelings behind. Albee shows that even though adults marry, they may not be truly adult; they may be carrying around baggage from their youth that is never quite taken care of or resolved. George and Martha are like overgrown children in the way they fight with each other. They are very strong people and yet they do not like themselves, and it shows. Finally, Albee shows the theme and his thoughts about marriage in how immature these characters really are, and how they cannot accept each other or themselves. These two characters cannot accept and love each other for who they are and this also shows their emotional immaturity and lack of self-esteem. They react to each other by trying to hurt each other, and they even...
This shows that Albee believes the fantasy of "love ever after" in marriage is a myth. People grow and change, and life hands them many disappointments and hardships. Some people rise above these hardships, but George and Martha seem mired in them, and that says their marriage is indeed as Martha calls it - a "sewer" they cannot seem to surmount. That is because they are immature and they still carry around regrets from their childhood that make them fearful and unsure of themselves and of each other. Their relationship is dysfunctional, but it seems clear that neither one of them would ever consider leaving the other. Marriage may be a bond, but to George and Martha it is more like a bind - binding them together in love, hate, and despair.
The giant who was once a demi-god suddenly becomes a devil's minion. This revelation rests within the woman's power; Virginia had no problem openly revealing George's impotence, failure in his career, and turn of temperament while Nora - admittedly a bit more gracious, though none the less cunning - did nothing to Torvald's immediate public image. The harm to Torvald would come later, when explaining why his wife and
Virginia Woolf's a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man In his novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce employs symbols and motifs to illustrate Stephen's maturity and growth. Joyce brings to mind the myth of Icarus and Daedalus, which help us understand Stephen's thoughts and actions. Joyce also includes such symbols as color and water to demonstrate the Stephen's development. In addition, Joyce utilizes
Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Classic tragedies possess tragic heroes and cataclysmic endings. Otherwise strong and potentially great leaders fall prey to human character flaws such as hubris. In a true tragedy, the protagonist does not emerge victorious, but rather, typically brings about their own and others' downfalls. Tragic heroes squander their personal power and usually learn from their mistakes, but moments too late. Classical tragedies rarely have more than a
Virginia Woolf and Her Works as Mediums of Feminism Virginia Woolf was among the rare writers who have put their talents and ideologies into writings, particularly as a patron of equality to women. Considered as one of the founders of feminism, there were quite a number of literary works that show Woolf's passion for promoting feminism. Some of this includes the following literary masterpieces. To the Lighthouse A Room on One's Own (1929) Three
Afraid of Virginia Woolf' by Edward Albee This is a paper on the play 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' by Edward Albee. A three-part theater play, 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' by Edward Albee presents a typical insight on the disturbed and somewhat revengeful life of a married couple, George and Martha. The era when the play was first performed is that of the late 1950s, a period dominated by a
Martha/Virginia Woolf Fleeing the Big Bad Wolf: Martha's Fear of Female Power in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf exposes the underbelly of a dysfunctional marriage that has reached the point of viciousness. George and Martha, the two main characters, are crippled with disappointment, both with themselves and with each other. Martha in particular has reached a point of utter despair, though it often masquerades as
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