Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf Analysis

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Edward Albee is often termed as a controversial playwright, and rightly so since his plays intend to wake the readers from their slumber to the world running amuck around them. Albee strives to peel the layers of illusion in his work and in doing so; he uncovers a picture tainted to an extent that it serves as a mirror to the contemporary society. One such play that speaks volume is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – A play that throws light at relationships, that shining on the outside but rotten to the core. Primarily attributed to debunking the illusion-reality of the couples in the play, Albee also portrays the truth of such relationships in the contemporary society. The play begins past midnight and much like the darkness of the surroundings the darkness of the relationships is at its peak. What starts as a simple arrival of guests at Martha and George’s place turns into a game where Nick and Honey are dragged into the mindless tricks of the hosts. The games are not merely a means for the couples to while away time but a means to an end. The end of relationships, the end of the façade that they have bored too long. In the guise of these games, they leave no stone unturned to grab the other person and walk all over them. This complex game bets one against the other, George – Martha and Nick - Honey. The larger picture of the play is a power play and it is obvious in the actions of the characters, particularly George and Martha. From the eye of a psychoanalyst, their