Martha In Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf

Improved Essays
People are greatly influenced and affected by their pasts; the past helps to shape who they are today. This theme reigns true in literature as well: Edward Albee, in his theatre of the absurd play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, uses Martha to show how her unfulfilling past has influenced and developed her into this woman who hides her sorrow and depression with a mask of cruelty and inhumanity. Through her tragic story, Albee utilizes Martha to illustrate the dangers of living life through illusions rather than reality.
Martha’s past has a great impact on her current attitudes towards her life and husband, George. While Martha is a cruel wife who berates her husband every chance she gets, there is also deep sorrow and depression within
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A woman’s role in society was to keep the house clean and tidy and be loving and compassionate towards her husband. A woman should always present themselves as being very proper. Martha, according to the standards of woman in the 1960s, the period in which the play was published, would not be considered a traditional wife. Martha was not the best at performing her role as the perfect housewife. The play begins with Martha calls the living room a dump. The ideal American wife would clean the room and make it look presentable, especially if guests were going to come over. Martha just notices how messy the room is and moves on. The ideal American wife would talk to her husband politely and lovingly; Martha berates her husband and speaks to him in callous tone. Martha wants George to become the president of the university, but Martha is never a consideration for the job simply because of her gender. Just because Martha is a woman, she would not be able to handle and perform successfully in such a demanding job as the president of the university.. While Martha does not even necessarily want the job, society ties her hands by not allowing her to be able to work at all. By telling her she must stay at home to take care of her husband and their house, Martha is never able to go out and find a job for herself; she cannot go out and find something she loves to do. Because of society’s illusion of how the woman are expected to act, Martha develops a very depressed state. No matter how well Martha hides this sorrow, it is there within

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