But George is not lifted out of his mood by the nursery rhyme, and so Martha uses her Virginia Woolf song once more. But even this does not make George laugh. Martha pretends to be upset by this, “[ugly] It was a scream!”. She is defiant that her song was indeed funny, and eventually George gives in and says, “It was very funny; yes”. Again, Martha seems to have won this little “game” between the two of them, as her relentlessness forces George into submission. Martha continues to speak in a childish manner, and even says to George, “Uh…you make me puke”. But George seems to have tired of her child-like insults, “That wasn’t a very nice thing to say, Martha”. By remaining patient, George has turned Martha’s tactics of wearing him down with childishness, against her. This gives him a small but satisfying “victory”.
One of George’s tactics is to make Martha out to be some kind of monster. He initially does this by likening her to a cocker spaniel that chews its ice cubes. Later on in the play he says that she has more than one head, and, at the end of Act I, even says that she eats chromosomes for breakfast! This may appear to be a childish game that George is playing, to reciprocate with Martha’s child-like taunts. However, it may also show how George has come to despise his wife and her peculiar ways. George then makes another reference to Martha’s age when she insults him for having two teeth less than her, “I suppose it is. I suppose it’s pretty remarkable…considering how old you are”. George already knows how sensitive Martha is about references to her age, and so he is clearly showing his intellect and wit in this comment. George is clearly the wittier of the two, on so in this particular “game”, he has triumphed.
Martha again uses role-play to ask George for a “Big sloppy kiss!”. But George, who for once appears to have some power over his wife, declines this, and says, “I don’t want to kiss you, Martha”. Martha let her guard down for a brief moment, and George took advantage of this. Martha seems genuinely hurt by the rejection, “Why don’t you want to kiss me?”. Again, George has used his wit and intellect to turn Martha’s flirtatious nature against her. The fact that they do not kiss may also indicate a problem with their sex life, and this may be at the heart of the problems in their relationship.
The married couple continue to fling insults at one another, until the doorbell chimes. There is a continuation of the childish battles between the two, as they even argue about who should open the door, “Martha: Go answer the door / George [not moving]: You answer it”. This is yet another child-like game that the two characters play. It is Martha who ends up as the victor in this case, and George eventually agrees to open the door. Martha has asserted her dominance over George here, has he has accepted her orders. However, George provokes his wife into a frenzy while they talk about their son, causing Martha to shout “Screw You!” just as George opens the door for the young couple. George has deliberately planned for this, in order to humiliate Martha. Again, he has used her anger and child-like insults to his own advantage, and thus wins the final “game” that the two play in private.
George probably knows that Martha has invited Nick in order to flirt with him. The fact that Martha does this illustrates her dominance in the relationship, and suggests how George is trapped, as he dare not argue with a woman who’s father is the college President. But though he does not try to prevent Nick from coming to the house, he does launch an immediate attack on him. Nick is forced into commenting on a painting, as conversation between the four dries up. But George tries to put words in his mouth, and attempts to make Nick feel uncomfortable. George continues intimidate Nick throughout Act I. It is like a chess-game between the two men, in which George is constantly trying to lock Nick in to check. It seems as though Nick is little more than a pawn in the great power struggle between George and Martha. Also, although the guests have arrived, insults continue to be hurled between the two, though a little more subtlety than before, “Martha’s tastes in liquor have come down…. Simplified over the years…crystallized”. Here, George is not only insulting Martha over he excessive drink habits, but also over her age. Martha simply relies “Screw, sweetie!”. Martha then claims that George has a “Dylan Thomas-y” quality, because George, like Dylan Thomas, was equally well known for his evocative verse as for his alcoholism. This “game” of throwing insults is made more intense by the fact that George and Martha now have an audience in the form of the young couple. They attempt to humiliate each other in front of Nick and Honey.
Honey returns to tell George that Martha is changing. He knows that she is only changing for Nick, “Martha hasn’t changed for me in years”, and so Martha flirtatious game with Nick has taken on a physical nature. George is clearly aware of the potential affair Martha will have with Nick, and later on in the play says, “I know when I’m being threatened”. Also, Martha has mentioned their child to Honey. As soon as George hears of this, he says, “O.K, Martha… OK”. There is a feeling that Martha has laid down a gauntlet for George, and that a ferocious verbal battle will ensue over this child. When Martha enters, she is said to look “more voluptuous”, and she begins to flirt with Nick, she launches more insults at George. Martha’s games have taken on a more aggressive form here. She is deliberately trying to outrage George by flirting in front of him and Honey, and by raining questions about his manhood. She contrasts George’s failure in the history department with Nick’s early academic success. She even claims that George’s body is “paunchy”, compared with Nick, who is athletic. She criticises him relentlessly, and even uses the term “swampy” to show him as an old bore. George just not seemed interested in retaliating at this point, but appears to be biding his time, waiting for an opportunity to get back at her. He is probably waiting for the subject of their child to be brought up again, so that he can use it against Martha. One way in which he is able to counter her insults, is with an elaborate refusal to light her cigarette. This again shows George’s tendency to try to use his intellect to demonstrate superiority.
Martha then recalls a boxing match that occurred between her and George in their early marriage. She knows that this will embarrass George, and make him seem weak and unmanly. George warns her not to tell the story, as it relates back to a time when Martha gained the upper hand over George in the relationship, by knocking him into a huckleberry bush. He walks out in anger when she ignores this threat. It is ironic that Martha tells Nick and Honey this story, as it was possibly the first “game” that George and Martha played together. All the other “games” may have followed on from that time. As she completes the humiliating story, George returns with a shotgun. He aims it at the back of Martha’s head and, as Honey screams in terror, he fires. But the gun is simply a toy that fires a Chinese parasol. The joke is harmless, but it is prompted out of George genuine rage, suggesting that he wishes it were real. In a sense, he kills her symbolically for her cruelty. There may also be a sexual theme here, as guns are often considered “phallic symbols” in literature. Martha appears to be tuned-on by the gun incident, and asks George for a kiss. But pulls away from her and replies, “Oh-ho! That’s what you’re after, is it? What are we going to have…blue games for the guests?”. George’s patience has clearly paid off. He knows how to turn Martha on, and is able to use this against her. This is the second time that he has denied her a kiss, and it shows that George is able to assert some dominance over her. She is said to be “angry-hurt” by the refusal.
Martha then says to Nick, “You don’t need any props, do you, baby?”. Again, it appears Martha has won this round of the “game”, as she turned the table by pointing out George’s apparent impotence and Nick sexual power. She later says, “You’re right in the meat of things”, and this again refers to his sexual prowess.
When the subject of their son is once again brought up, George seizes his opportunity to attack Martha. The subject is clearly a source of great tension between the two of them. George says, “I want to know…you brought it out into the open”, but Martha appears upset and shouts, “I don’t want to talk about it!”. Again, George has turned Martha’s own foolishness against her here. However, Martha again turns the subject round to once again focus on George’s manhood. She claims that the only reason George calls their son a “little-bugger” is because he is uncertain that the child is really his. George is offended by this, and calls her a “wicked-person”, even though he probably suspects, or knows, that the child is indeed not his.
A the end of the Act, Martha begins another relentless campaign to make George feel like a failure, and how he doesn’t have the “stuff” to become head of the history department. This culminates in George smashing a glass in frustration. This is the first time that words have failed George, and he appears utterly beaten by Martha’s cruel insults. He then begins to sing Martha’s Virginia Woolf song, in an attempt to drown her out. This is ironic, as he is, in a way, conceding defeat to her by doing this. George’s patience appears to have evaporated, and Martha seems victorious.
In conclusion, it must be said that the ironically named “games” between George and Martha cause a great deal of pain to both characters. Neither can be said to be having “fun” at any time, though there were occasions when Martha appears turned-on by the conflict.
