Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe - Ahmanson

Just saw this last night. Never knew much about it beforehand and was not familiar with Albee or any of his other work.

That being said, I only really got into it in the 2nd act but I enjoyed it a lot.

Can anyone tell me what the deal with their son is? I'm pretty sure that he never existed but I haven't put all the pieces together. I'd love to hear other ideas to help me clarify that part of the storyline.

Updated On: 3/16/07 at 03:50 PM

Wow, now I'm even more confused than before.

Can I PM you later with more questions?

They did though

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George and Martha could not have children. The "son" was invented in one of their private games, but never exposed to others. George not only talked about "their son" in front of Nick and Honey, violating the "rules of the game," but he then "kills" the son publicly as well, to gain victory over Martha.

It's all metaphoric, as is much of the play, about the games we play and the lies we tell to get through day to day life. And when the sun rises at the end of the play, will George and Martha survive and go on?

I saw Colleen Dewhurst and George Grizzard do this show years ago and they were brilliant. I have heard that Turner and Irwin are just as good.

Do no high school or college drama classes teach Albee any more?

Updated On: 3/16/07 at 04:18 PM

The son is symbolic. Albee is obsessed with the American Dream, and the stereotypical american family is a couple with a children, especially the all-american boy. The couple desires this, and since they can't have children they create him. So, that just like Nick and Bunny they can have the American Dream, but Nick and Bunny's so-called American Dream is also torn apart. The whole play is based around the exocism of the American Dream and how we tear each other's apart because we live with such rigidty about what the American Dream has to be. By George killing the son, Martha becomes scared because they will never achieve this dream. This is why at the end when George asks, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Martha says, "I am George. I am" Because Martha is horrified by the reality that she is going to have to face now that the world they had created has been destroyed. If you have other question about this play don't hesitate to ask. I am in the middle of writing my senior thesis about Albee's use of the American Dream in his works.

M

I adore that we posted the same thing so close to each other.

I saw this last month and both Turner and Irwin were outstanding. I really enjoyed it. I agree they never had a son.

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What exactly are you referring to? I don't have my copy of the script right in front of me?

I don't think Albee makes it clear whether George's story is true or just another story of his (which is probably more likely). I've also thought that perhaps, the "friend" is really George and some parts of the story are things that happened to George in his childhood, but I can't remember exactly what it was in the text that gave me that impression (perhaps, it was something about the way I've seen that scene played in the past).

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I posted this a while back about the end of the play...

Someone was asking about the song they sing, why was it sung to a nursery rhyme instead of to Disney's "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"... and they also wanted to know about its meaning at the end of the play. The last lines...

* * * *


The song was sung to "Mulberry Bush" in the movie too, and the rights were not granted by Disney to use their song in the film.

I always thought of the song in the play as an "inside joke" that the audience doesn't get and isn't supposed to. We're not let in on the joke, only the punchline. We weren't a part of that game where they told the joke.

Just as we're not let in on why George & Martha play these mean-spirited little games with each other. I don't think they're living in dream worlds so much as they are living in constant competition and opposition with each other. They're always saying "let's play THIS," or "do you wanna play THAT?" etc. Mike Nichols brought this out a lot more in the movie and the way it was directed.

Their lives are exposed and almost too much to bear without the games. Finally, after much blood-letting, they realize that to play little games with each other the way they do, in such a violent spiteful way, will destroy them and everyone around them.

At the end when George sings the song to her again, and Martha answers, "I am, George. I am." I think she's saying she's afraid of these games and the inside jokes and the horribly dysfunctional way they live their lives. And from the emotional rubble all around them, there is a tiny ray of hope that the games and the roll-playing wars will stop, once and for all.

* * * * *

So to tie that into your question... They have to end the game about the fictional son. It has to stop, once and for all. They have to symbolically "bury him," so they can move on.

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Do no high school or college drama classes teach Albee any more?

We definitely read this in AP English senior year of high school a few years ago. It was my favorite of everything the school ever forced us to read.

And Nick's wife is named Honey, not Bunny, as someone said.

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You're so right! What a deliciously brilliant and sneaky guy that Albee is.

Thanks though, I do feel better knowing that I had the itended reaction.