Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf Key Scenes Act 1 1. First time Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is sung playfully (p5) 2. George’s complaint about being married to the daughter of the president of the university (p13) 3. Martha’s seduction of Nick relating to his physique (p27) 4. George seizes back attention with the gun (p30) 5. George talks about Nick creating a perfect race of men (p34) 6. Martha speaks in admiration about her father (p41) 7. Martha explains how she married George out of the practicality of a successor and infatuation, and her disillusionment with him over the years due to his unassertiveness (p45) 8. George sings “Who’s Afraid” for the second time to drown Martha out (p46) Act 2 1. Revelation of Honey’s Hysterical Pregnancy (p49) 2. George tells the story of the boy who killed his mother and father (p51) 3. George and Martha argue over why the son is sick (p64) 4. Martha makes a rhyme about George’s failed novel (p70) 5. George makes up a story that exposes the secrets of Nick and Honey’s marriage, goading them to participate in the game (p75) 6. Martha seduces Nick (p87) 7. George sings “Who’s afraid for the third time to intentionally break up the moment of intimacy (p88) 8. George purposefully reads a book to feign ignorance while Martha taunts him by saying she would amuse herself with Nick (p90) 9. The Killing of the Son (p97) Act 3 1. Martha begins to unravel and process the difficulties of her life (p99) 2. Martha reflects on her paradoxical love for George (p102) 3. Martha orders Nick to open the door and accuses him of careerist intentions (p103) 4. George and Martha degrade each other with the son (p120) 5. Killing of the Son (p123) Points/Incidents/Quotes Techniques/Effects Significance

Themes ● Discuss the Presentation of X in the Play ● “Quote” Discuss Key Themes 1. Truth and Illusion 2. Power and Powerlessness 3. Gender Considerations ● Relation to elements of Style a. Absurdism b. Setting c. Rising Tension and De-escalation d. Parallels and Foils e. Character Archetypes: Madonna-Whore ● PORN: Process, Outcome, Role, Nature ● In what ways → How so → So What ● Physical → Psychological → Emotional → Spiritual ● System/Society/Individual ● Appearance → Reality → Reconciliation Truth and Illusion Relation to Existentialism How to respond when existence is found to be meaningless ● Technique: Absurdism ● Human Desire for inherent value & meaning ≠ Inability to find meaning ○ Attachment to meaning → Suffering ● Individuals should embrace absurdity and futility in rebellion ○ Creation of own meaning in meaninglessness The American Dream Ethos of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness ● Meritocracy and Equality ● Manifestation: Happy and stable family, house and job The Nuclear Family Ideal American Family in the 1960s with four roles: Father, Mother, Daughter and Son ● Enforcement of Capitalist Ideals: Family Unit of Trust against the more communal way of living of the Soviets ● Prominent in American Media

Self-Reflexivity A technique whereby the play refers to its own fictionality ● Self-aware characters and Writing ● Effects: Humor and forces the audience to consider the nature of Truth ● Significance: Truth is relative and Chosen Considerations ● Illusion of Relationship: Games that George and Martha play to find meaning in dysfunctional relationship ● Illusion of Power ● Illusion of Success in Social Expectations ● Illusion of Parenthood ● Illusory Arguments ● Control of ‘Truth’ by Stories ● Struggle towards obtaining Truth ● Construction/Deconstruction from Illusion to Truth ● Shared and mutually enforced construction of illusion → Relationship ● The performative Nature of Illusions ● Private Sphere → Public Sphere in the Story of the Son Societal Expectations/Flippancy → Meaning Illusions ​ that fulfil ​ social expectations/reduce relationships to flippancy ​ are a means through which the self is defined, to construct meaning from hopeless suffering ● Sense of Catharsis ● So What/Reconciliation ● Illusory Relationships ○ George and Martha: Happy Family ○ Nick and Honey: Up and Coming Young Couple ● Illusions adopted as reality to cope with the actuality of deep-seated issues Creation of Imaginary Son to fulfil Ideal of the American Dream ● “My chromosomological partnership in the...creation of our...blond-eyed, blue-haired son” ● Validation of Social Function ● Shared Responsibility ● Irony in things that George is sure of and colour → Flippant self-aware illusion ● “Partnership”: Formal detached diction indicating superficiality ● “Chromosomological”: Complex detached diction referencing biology (Nick) to indicate that the son lacks a self ● Malleability of Language → Instability ● Illusions have a pragmatic purpose in finding meaning in suffering ● The self has autonomy whether to accept/reject truth ○ If Truth → Meaningless and Hopeless, perhaps Illusion is a better alternative ● Social expectations of extrinsic values → Success

becomes binary and the self is prone to inefficacy & disillusionment George relishing in illusion of gun rather than real violence ● Visual and Auditory Spectacle ● Rapid escalation and de-escalation Relationships based on flippant illusions would be reduced to a theatrical grapple to outwit and outshine the other for power which leaves the self in a state of instability desperate for attention George prizing taking a jab at Martha > Physical Intimacy ● “ ​ stage-side breast. He breaks away ​ ...That’s what you’re after, is it? What are we going to have...blue games for the guests?... ​ Pyrrhic Victory ​ ” (p31) Honey’s use of language: Superficial responses appreciating whatever occurs ● Deep faults in forced unpassionate marriage ● Illusion as supportive wife in up and coming couple ● Supports Martha’s flirtations praising Nick rather than standing up for herself (p27) ● Maxims ● Uncreative Hyperboles ● “Intercollegiate” Complex Diction → Pride ● Parallelism in blindly supporting Martha’s words: “firm body” Hiddenness → Knowledge and Power The self utilises illusions to keep the other in the dark about its true intentions, to derive power from the impression that it has more knowledge over the other Frivolity to protect Innermost Self The self defines itself with the illusion of frivolity to protect its true innermost self from hurt by others, through redirecting pain to its facade (and finding satisfaction in insults that graze rather than address real issues) Frivolity for Efficacy in Dominance The self defines itself with illusory frivolity seen in the wordplay that George and Martha engage in, to find a sense of efficacy in dominance over the other

George and Martha using the narrative of the son to insult each other (p37, 120) ● “He’s not completely sure it’s his own kid” George relishing in illusion of gun rather than real violence ● Visual and Auditory Spectacle ● Rapid escalation and de-escalation Relationships based on flippant illusions would be reduced to a grapple to outwit and outshine the other for power which leaves the self in a state of instability desperate for attention George prizing taking a jab at Martha > Physical Intimacy ● “ ​ stage-side breast. He breaks away ​ ...That’s what you’re after, is it? What are we going to have...blue games for the guests?... ​ Pyrrhic Victory ​ ” (p31) George singing “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf” to drown out Martha’s complaints (p46) ● Auditory Spectacle → Sing-song quality and rising intensity → Flippant yet Deliberate Anger ● Parallelism → Frivolity ●