Discuss the role of illusion in the marriages portrayed in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Discuss the role of illusion in the marriages portrayed in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Literature in the 1950s and 1960s was concerned with the inevitability of failure, and that idealism is unachievable. The French writer Sartre developed a new genre in theatre known as existentialism, which criticizes insularism, and disputes the futility of human existence. The drama of this era, the Theatre of the Absurd, mirrored these ideas in an often surreal manner. Albee often combines the Theatre of the Absurd with some realism. He wrote Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in the 1960s, the period of the Cold War, when the public was beginning to doubt the nationalistic notions of the 1950s. One of the major themes explored is the role of illusion, especially in the relationships between the characters.
Martha and George's relationship centres on their imaginary son in an effort to alleviate the pain of their inability to conceive, and therefore keep their relationship intact. Their 'son' is their creation: "our child". However, Martha broke the rule: she "mentioned it to someone else". She explains: "[crying] I FORGET! ...I... want to mention him ...I've wanted to so often." Pathos is created as her reaction demonstrates how desperate she was to make their son real. Their son is not the same figure in both their minds: Martha claims he has "green" eyes, George remarks "blue, green, brown", hinting their son is fake and they can make him into whoever they want. The heart of this delusion seems to be what novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr. identified as "foma," or "harmless untruths, intended to comfort simple souls."
Martha's relationship with her father seems to be close and loving on the surface. She conveys great appreciation and devotion for her father: "Jesus, I admired that guy! ... I absolutely worshipped him. I still do." Martha does not want to be "...disappointing to Daddy", yet what transpires from George's scorn is "a misunderstood little girl" whose father "doesn't give a damn whether she lives or dies". From a psychoanalytical standpoint, this reveals that perhaps Martha's constant jeering at George being "a flop" is powered by her seeking to try and gratify her father. Her illusion of her ...
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Martha's relationship with her father seems to be close and loving on the surface. She conveys great appreciation and devotion for her father: "Jesus, I admired that guy! ... I absolutely worshipped him. I still do." Martha does not want to be "...disappointing to Daddy", yet what transpires from George's scorn is "a misunderstood little girl" whose father "doesn't give a damn whether she lives or dies". From a psychoanalytical standpoint, this reveals that perhaps Martha's constant jeering at George being "a flop" is powered by her seeking to try and gratify her father. Her illusion of her father's brilliance can be seen as an attempt for approval and acceptance by him.
George seems also concerned with his past. His account of the boy who "accidentally" killed his parents seems to be about himself as Martha spitefully discloses that the same storyline was used for George's failed autobiographical novel. However, the audience can never be assured that it is truth, as when Nick asks whether George "killed them", and George and Martha reply: "[defiantly] Maybe" and "Yeah, maybe not, too." Their unity in this is a perfect example of how illusion brings them together, but it can drive them apart.
Both George and Martha have difficulty in discriminating between truth and illusion, and their inability to communicate does not help. Martha's detailed and vivid description of their son's childhood displays true affection for a child to love. She illustrates their son with "gold" hair like "fleece", making him the embodiment of the perfect American Dream, an aspect of American culture which Albee mocks and rejects through George who will eventually shatter their dream. George's inability to differentiate between truth and illusion is shown when Martha lies to him about how Nick is "not a houseboy," implying that they had intercourse. Martha says: "[pleading] Truth and illusion, George; you don't know the difference." The stage direction suggests that she is anxious about George believing her because she has realised how much she needs George - Martha wants him to know it is not true.
Nick and Honey, the supposed dream American couple also base their marriage around illusion. They present us with a falsely courteous and content masquerade. Nick not only married Honey because of her "hysterical pregnancy" but also for money. Nick is the epitome of the all-round American golden boy "smooth, blond, and right at the middleweight limit." Nonetheless, Nick is also "a flop" - he does not perform sexually with Martha, another of Albee's portrayals of the American Dream as superficial. Honey, suppresses parts of their life. She deceives Nick by using contraceptive pills to inhibit pregnancy. Albee shows how not everything is as it seems, especially the American Dream which disguises a core of disappointment and ruin.
The damaging effects of illusion are seen throughout the play. Their fabrications of a fantasy child from a fear of reality produce pointless arguments which never amount to anything, as well as a means of escape. Although never intended to be one, George correctly states that their son is "a weapon" used against each other, demonstrated when Martha first mentions him to Honey, to when George forces Martha to talk about him. The destructive effect of their childish games that they hide behind is seen clearly when they go too far with "Humiliate the Host", "Get the Guests", and "Hump the Hostess", all seemingly harmless but have sinister undertones. Additionally the alcoholism is obviously evident. The use of alcoholism to escape reality and to hide feelings is seen in Martha's lonely monologue. She explains sadly how her and George "cry all the time" and they take their tears and "put'em in the ice box... until they're all frozen... and then we put them in our drinks." It is a metaphor for their way of suppressing their emotions through alcohol, another form of illusion.
Honey avoids reality through alcohol too. Even when she is drunk, she makes the choice: "I've decided I don't remember anything" that George has told her of the death of their son. Similar to how she blocks out parts of her life with Nick, inebriating herself, it all shows her fear of reality.
Honey and Nick's relationship began as a perfect one. Yet due to the revelations of the evening and the web of lies gradually being untangled shows the shattering of the American Dream. Even the things that seem flawless have stifled secrets.
George's termination of his and Martha's "son" had to be executed. Throughout the play, George has seemed to be the weaker half, Martha being the dominant one, going against the grain of contemporary social expectations. Yet George successfully manages to disconnect himself from the illusion which he knows will destroy their lives, and he emerges as the stronger force that was able to rescue Martha from their self-deception. After their son has been "killed", Martha suggests: "I don't suppose, maybe, we could..." create another child, panicking about how they will cope without it. But eventually, Martha and George had to abandon their illusion in order to save their marriage.
Albee, as an Absurdist, considered a delusional life was unethical: it does not create any real happiness for life. He conveys this through the illusions invoked by the two couples. They used illusion as a coping mechanism, but ultimately, it produced nothing but disappointment and destruction. To survive, all four characters will have to discard delusion, and deal with reality.
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