Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

708 Words3 Pages
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? 1. Describe the relationship between George and Martha. Throughout Act One they interact in different ways. Identify these and discuss what these attitudes might mean. The relationship between George and Martha may be dysfunctional but is realistic. Throughout Act One, at times Martha seems dominant over George and vice versa. With the constant bickering between the two, Martha is usually seen as the dominant figure. Though Martha also gains power through making herself inferior to George by acting child-like. As she is “[imitating a child]”. While George simply accepts the insults and submits to Martha. This is because he merely wants to satisfy her as he replies “Oink! Oink!” to “You Pig!” 2. How does their domestic situation differ from the ‘ideal’ 1960’s American society? The ideal American domestic situation is one that includes material success and a content relationship. George and Martha’s domestic situation does partially fulfil the first component of “the ideal domestic situation,” but clearly does not in the second. As shown with their actions throughout Act One. These actions include the constant bickering between George and Martha and their cruel behaviour to each other and to Nick and Honey. “Daddy...says a man is only part brain... he has body, too and it’s his responsibility to keep both of them up...you know?” Martha’s reference to “body” is a direct insult to George as she compares Nick’s superiority over George. With the little material success on George’s “salary,” her constant reference to her father suggests that she is dwelling on the fact it is not “the way it was supposed to be.” George and Martha’s current domestic situation is utterly opposite to what is ideal. 3. Albee deliberately has his characters use coarse language, shocking to audiences at the time of the play’s production.

More about Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Open Document