Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Act III

Act III, Scene I  Martha: a woman full of desperation and self-pity.  We see her starved for affection.  Martha’s ‘worship’ of her father has turned into admitting he cries all the time.

 Martha and George cry all the time too…alcohol metaphor signifies the painful cycle of their lives.

Act III, Scene II  Nick is a ‘flop’ in bed as we are told here.  Martha’s vulnerability…Nick’s sexual inadequacies. We are beginning to see the truth behind the act.

Martha & Nick  Martha calling the men she’s been with ‘poor babies’. Could they be a substitute for children themselves.  Martha’s suggestion to Nick that George is the only man that has satisfied her again evokes appearance and reality.

George & Martha  Martha: George ‘who has made…the mistake of loving me and must be punished for it.’  Does Martha see herself as unworthy of love and therefore despises anyone who would love her.  She sums the relationship up as: ‘George and Martha: sad, sad, sad.’

Martha & Nick  Nick as a ‘gelding’ or castrated horse. Does this mean that Martha has destroyed Nick as well as George?  Why does Nick readily take on the role of houseboy? Is he desperate to get ahead? Or because Honey is still laid out in the bathroom.  The term Gigolo is a male prostitute. Could Nick be called one?

Act III, Scene III  George shouting flowers for the dead. This heralds the death of their son.  George & Martha attack Nick.  ‘Pansies! Rosemary! Violence!’ again the violence references come out.

Truth & Illusion  The scene is littered with references to truth and illusion and Martha even makes the theme explicit here.

George  He was once the evenings ‘slave’ and now he has become the ‘master’.  George warns Martha that he will win.

Religious Allusion  Easter Sunday: the celebration of a resurrection; however George is planning a death.

ACT III, SCENE IV  Martha’s beautiful description of the child’s childhood is very poetic and a million miles from her crass side.  As this occurs, George recites a Catholic mass.

Honey’s change  ‘I want a child’ – this suggests a change in the character o Honey in the play.

The Son  George & Martha once again blame each other for his problems.  The circumstances of his death mirror the ‘bergin’ story. Therefore, the first evidence of it being a myth.  Nick soon realises that the whole story was an invention.

The Child as Jesus  Some readers see the child as Jesus. He is killed by George to save the sins of mankind (George & Martha).  Even the eating of the telegram could be seen as a form of communion.

Infertility  George ‘We couldn’t’ – in reference to the fact that they can’t have children.

The reason behind the child  Some suggest that Albee uses the child to suggest that we need illusions (the child) in the modern world to avoid madness.

George & Martha  Does George kill the child because:  1) He is acting nobly and he wants to save Martha from her destructive fantasy of the child.  OR  2) He is punishing Martha for what she has done earlier in the play.

Act III, Scene V  All of the plays drunken energy has now subsided and been replaced by an exhausted set of characters.  It’s all filled with uncertainty.  George sings Martha ‘Who’s Afraid…’ as a lullaby now.

Three Readings of the Play  1) Hopeful: now that they have ‘exercised’ their demons – and their vices & cruelty – they can move on with happier, more honest lives.  2) Bleak: George & Martha are totally defenceless against the world.  3) Ritual: George & Martha are simply completing the circle of horrible events that characterise all their evenings. It’s relatable to absurdist theatre.