Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Edward Albee, 1962

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Review

About

Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) is a volcanic exploration of marriage, illusion, and emotional warfare. Set over one drunken night in a college town, it dissects the relationship of George and Martha—two intellectuals whose love has curdled into cruelty. Albee’s language is sharp, his dialogue electric, and his insight merciless.

Overview

The play begins as a late-night gathering and devolves into psychological combat. George and Martha invite a younger couple, Nick and Honey, into their living room, where games, confessions, and lies blur into truth. Beneath the bitterness lies a yearning for connection—love warped by disappointment, dreams that turned into weapons. Albee’s genius is in his balance: the grotesque and the tender coexist without contradiction.

Summary

(light spoilers) The “games” George and Martha play—like “Get the Guests” and “Bringing Up Baby”—reveal the hollowness of their lives. Their imaginary child becomes the emotional center of the play, both fantasy and lifeline. As the night collapses into dawn, illusions are stripped bare: the invented son, the marriage’s truth, and the fragile humanity that remains. The final scene, quiet and exhausted, is less about victory than survival—a surrender to honesty after years of mutual deception. It’s brutal, funny, and unbearably real.

Key Themes / Main Ideas

• Marriage and illusion — love sustained by lies.
• Reality and performance — truth as emotional theater.
• Power and humiliation — intimacy as battlefield.
• Generation and decay — old dreams confronting new cynicism.
• Loneliness — the cost of living without illusion.

Strengths and Weaknesses

• Strengths — Razor-sharp dialogue; emotional precision.
• Strengths — Combines psychological realism with lyrical despair.
• Weaknesses — Length and intensity can feel relentless.
• Weaknesses — Requires emotional stamina, but rewards it fully.

Reviewed with focus on themes, audience, and takeaways — Edward Albee