Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Truth and Illusion Essay Example

Through Albee's witty and fast dialogue, the two engage in an offside and vacant argument about a certain Betty Davis, Warner Bros. epic.

Martha insisting that Davis' character arrives home from shopping to a 'modest' house, when in reality the film shows her entering in a much more classy manor. This is the first hint of Truth and Illusion, within the play. Martha doesn't want to fully accept that the kitchen she stands in in the film is obviously very 'modest' itself, and contrasting her life and situation to that of Betty Davis' she brings reality down and forms an illusion to comfort her. When we are introduced to the house guests Nick and Honey shortly after the argument and soon George and Martha incorporate the two into their head games.

Martha takes a liking to Nick, and uses him as a way of trying to get at George. For a brief time, Martha escorts Honey upstairs where she shares with her a secret George has about his and Martha's son, her first big attack on him as they spiral towards total war. She re emerges from upstairs in a much more suggestive outfit that George refers to as her 'Sunday chapel dress'. This makes the audience realise that George knows what is happening, and intends to play along as he follows up with “We get lonely for the soft purr of your little voice”.

Another trick Martha uses to 'turn the tables' on him, so to speak, is shifting the conversation to athletics and sport. Nick being represented as a specimen of athletic excellence and George as a figure of much

lesser greatness as he is shown in the film slumped in a corner, near the bar, dimly lit and reading a book as Nick is placed in the shot next to Martha, looking dominant and powerful, brightly lit, with his wife in the foreground overshadowed by Martha. This is another theme within the play that is recurring, as George and Nick are compared in way of physical ability, there is also another rivalry hidden within the two characters.

George being a history professor and Nick a biology professor, there is a sense of Nature vs. Science being established which works effectively to set the two against each other. In another shot in the scene, George stands to fetch more ice and he is framed directly between Nick and Martha as she rants about him, the use of dialogue and camera work here give the audience the sense that whilst they are certainly estranged and destructive towards one another, there is a bond there that is a lot stronger than the bond Nick shares with his wife.

To quote Martha: “I actually fell for him... It... That... There”, but when George comes back with “Martha's a romantic at heart” she looks almost defeated as she replies softly to herself, “that I am”. George and Martha's relationship at this point seems to be at this point very emotionally removed and bitter, but as we find out and as I mentioned earlier, there is a real bond between the two, represented beautifully in the film through Burton and Taylor's flawless acting performances. There is a real truth to them, hidden behind all the lies and games that

perhaps they are afraid of facing.

Another example of illusion being pulled over truth is the relationship shared by Nick and Honey. On the outside they seem happy, in love and comfortable. But as George and Martha's escapades continue, the covers are pulled back on their marriage and we learn many truths about them. Honey is portrayed as an innocent party, quiet, uninteresting and oblivious to Martha's passes at Nick. She is almost a tool for Nick to be perceived as a wholesome good character at first, until he starts playing into the toxic head games for his own uses. We learn that he is more concerned with Honey's wealth than her love.

The same can be said for Honey, who is deceiving her husband by using birth control to avoid becoming pregnant. So what can we gather from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? What is Albee trying to tell his audience? He has shown us four lives lived in illusion to hide from the meaningless and cruel reality right in front of their eyes, and the effects of hiding from the truth. Albee wants us to know that hiding from reality and living in fiction will never bring us peace or happiness, and instead we must be able to live and deal with the truth of reality.