Martha and George are not your typical man and wife. Before the 1960s women were denied all the basic rights in most aspects of the society but the 1960s is when the woman liberation movement bought along many changes for women. It was thought that women could have a say in their government, that they could perhaps leave the home without feeling guilty about leaving their children alone, and that they could receive a job and earn wages like men. This period of time is the same time that "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf" was written.
This could suggest why Martha is portrayed as "manlike" because traditionally it was the role of the husband to be loud, and domineering, but Martha goes against the submissive role of a wife and seems very much in charge in her relationship with George. In fact one, the stage direction "Martha enters, followed by George" shows that Martha is the leader and George seems to be simply, a follower.
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. 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.
George is a professor of history and Martha enjoys relentless ridiculing of Georges professional failure. George has failed to meet the overwhelming expectations of Martha and her father who hoped George would succeed him. George, as Martha is fond of saying, is a bog in the history department; after many years he is not yet even the departmental chair. Martha enjoys taunting George about his lack of professional success and George does very little to fight back. I think this is because George is aware that he is dependent on Martha for financial stability and support. Martha and George really don’t appreciate the things that each of them contribute to the relationship that’s why they seems to be much negativity in their relationship. They obviously can’t live without each other but there is still an element of hate between the two couples and that’s where all the criticisms erupt from.
Martha and George’s relationship could be an insight into Nicks and Honeys. Both couples have entered into their relationship with immense unresolved emotional baggage; there is a lack of communication between the two couples. Like Martha and George, Nick and Honey don’t fully understand each other.
In “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” there is a lot of tension in George and Martha’s relationship, which is evident from the moment we are introduced to them. The tension is so immense that the audience can immediately pick up on it. It seems for Martha, that George is incapable of satisfying her needs because she is constantly on the lookout for younger men, hence the reason why she has invited Nick and Honey back to her place as she saw Nick as a bit of an eye candy. Martha flirts outrageously with Nick right in front of George and as the audience we begin to feel sympathetic to George who doesn’t seem to be man enough to stop his wife from committing full blown adultery right in his face. When Martha makes her reappearance in the living room after showing Honey around ,she has changed her clothes into something more comfortable and voluptuous something she rarely does according to George “Martha is not changing for me, Martha hasn’t changed for me in years”.
In conclusion, George and Martha may be a dysfunctional couple yet despite all their problems as Albee reveals there is a positive feeling that unites these two troubled people and that helps them look beyond their self created hell and unite.
