Flashcards for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

George

George is a middle-aged associate professor of history at a small New England college and the husband of Martha in Edward Albee's intense domestic drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

character

Honey

Honey is Nick's timid, childlike wife in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? — a two-act exploration of marital conflict set during a single late-night gathering at a New England college.

character

Martha

Martha is the fiery, sharp-tongued central character in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? — a middle-aged woman ensnared in a toxic marriage marked by mutual destruction and profound self-deception.

character

Nick

Nick is a young biology professor who, along with his wife Honey, gets caught up in George and Martha's brutal late-night games in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

character

“Total war? … I'm going to finish you before I'm through with you.”

This chilling declaration is made by George to his wife Martha during one of the most intense confrontations in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

George

“We all peel labels, sweetie; and when you get through the skin, all three layers, through the muscle, slosh aside the organs … and get down to bone … you know what you do then? … When you get down to bone, you haven't got all the way, yet.”

This chilling line is delivered by Martha in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Martha

“You're all flops. I am the Earth Mother, and you are all flops.”

This line is spoken by Martha in Edward Albee's intense 1962 play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, during the pivotal late-night drinking party that drives the action.

Martha

“I've tried to be what I thought you wanted.”

This line is spoken by Nick (or possibly Honey) to their spouse, but it's most commonly attributed to Honey in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Honey (or George/Martha, contextually)

“I cry all the time too, Daddy. I cry all the time; but deep inside, so no one can see me.”

This haunting line is delivered by Honey to George near the end of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Honey · Act III

“Musical beds is the faculty sport around here.”

This sharp line is spoken by George, the disillusioned history professor, during one of the play's many late-night verbal battles with his wife Martha in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

George · Act One

“George who is out somewhere there in the dark … George who is good to me, and whom I revile; who understands me, and whom I push off; who can make me laugh, and I choke it back in my throat.”

This heartfelt confession comes from Martha near the end of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Martha · Act Three

“Truth and illusion, George; you don't know the difference.”

This line is delivered by Martha to her husband George near the climax of Edward Albee's powerful 1962 play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.

Martha

“Snap! It went snap. Oh, I liked that. I liked that very much.”

This chilling line is delivered by Martha in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Martha · Act Three: The Exorcism

“Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? … I am, George … I am.”

This heartbreaking line is delivered by Martha to her husband George at the end of Edward Albee's 1962 play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Martha · Act Three: The Exorcism

“I am the Earth Mother, and you are all flops.”

This brutal declaration comes from Martha in Edward Albee's intense 1962 play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, during the climactic late-night drinking session that drives the entire story.

Martha

Alcohol

In Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, alcohol represents the confusion between truth and illusion, the breakdown of self-control, and the damaging effects of suppressed pain.

Games

In Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, games illustrate the destructive psychological conflict that George and Martha use to hide the painful truths about their marriage and their lives.

The House

In Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the house—George and Martha's faculty home on a New England college campus—serves as a suffocating trap that reflects their failed marriage.

The Imaginary Son

In Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the imaginary son that George and Martha have created together symbolizes the lies that couples—and people in general—tell themselves to cope with an unbearable reality.

The Portrait of Martha's Father

In Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Martha's father's portrait — the unseen but always looming college president — represents patriarchal authority, institutional power, and the heavy burden of expectation.

Irony

The play's title cleverly twists the children's song 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?' by swapping out the fairy-tale monster for Virginia Woolf, a modernist writer known for her exploration of inner turmoil and the struggle to face harsh truths.

Dramatic Monologue

Several extended speeches resemble dramatic monologues, revealing character through candid self-exposure.

Allegory

George and Martha share their names with George and Martha Washington, a connection that Albee confirmed is deliberate.

Extended Metaphor

The 'games' that George mentions — 'Humiliate the Host,' 'Get the Guests,' 'Hump the Hostess,' 'Bringing Up Baby' — create a lasting metaphor that portrays the evening as a structured ritual instead of just random cruelty.

Symbolism

The imaginary son serves as the play's main symbol.

Juxtaposition

Albee skillfully contrasts tenderness with savagery in the same moment.

Repetition

Key phrases build in significance as they recur.

Metaphor

Albee's dialogue is packed with local metaphors that reveal character.

Aporia

The play concludes with intentional uncertainty: George and Martha are left alone, the games have ended, their son is dead, yet there's no resolution.

Allusion

Beyond the title's nod to Virginia Woolf, the play weaves in literary and historical references that enrich its themes.

Pathetic Fallacy

The play unfolds between two and four in the morning, and Albee cleverly uses this time frame to evoke a sense of pathetic fallacy.

Motif

Alcohol acts as a recurring theme throughout all three acts.

dump

An informal, dismissive word for a place that is ugly, run-down, or depressing — used here as a contemptuous first impression of her own home.

noun · Chapter 1

nightcap

A drink of alcohol taken late at night, typically at the end of an evening's socializing, used as a casual pretext for the guests' visit.

noun · Chapter 1

faculty

Relating to the teaching and academic staff of a college or university, used to describe the social world George and Martha inhabit.

adjective · Chapter 1

provokes

To deliberately stir up anger or a strong reaction in someone, which is what Martha's invitation does to George from the very start of the evening.

verb · Chapter 1

swear

Used here not as an oath but as an emphatic declaration of absolute certainty, intensifying a cutting insult directed at a spouse.

verb · Chapter 1

divorce

To legally end a marriage — used here as a weapon in an argument, implying the marriage is so hollow that the speaker would escape it if she could.

verb · Chapter 1

Walpurgisnacht

A German word for the eve of May Day, traditionally associated with witches' sabbaths and chaos; Albee uses it as the title of Act Two to signal a night of wild, destructive revelry.

noun · Chapter 2

sad excuse for a man

A contemptuous idiom meaning someone who falls far short of what a real man should be — used as a direct, humiliating insult.

phrase · Chapter 2

Earth Mother

A figure of primal, all-encompassing female power and fertility — Martha uses it as a grandiose, mocking self-description to assert dominance over everyone present.

noun · Chapter 2

flops

People who have completely failed or performed uselessly — used here as a sweeping dismissal of every man in the room.

noun · Chapter 2

humiliate

To make someone feel deeply ashamed and worthless in front of others, which Martha describes as something George does to her repeatedly and without consequence.

verb · Chapter 2

tear apart

An idiom meaning to attack someone emotionally and psychologically with such force that it feels like being ripped to pieces, used here to describe sustained verbal cruelty.

phrase · Chapter 2

false pregnancy

A condition in which a woman believes or claims to be pregnant when she is not — here it is the secret that trapped Nick into marrying Honey.

noun · Chapter 2

exorcism

The ritual driving out of an evil spirit or a destructive force; Albee uses it as Act Three's title to suggest George is purging the damaging fantasy that has haunted their marriage.

noun · Chapter 3

snapdragons

A common garden flower with blossoms that open and close like a mouth; George's entrance carrying them is a deliberately strange, theatrical gesture loaded with irony.

noun · Chapter 3

telegram

A written message delivered by wire service, once the fastest form of long-distance communication — George claims to have received one announcing their son's death.

noun · Chapter 3

illusion

A false belief or comforting fiction that someone clings to in place of reality — the invented son is the central illusion the play finally destroys.

noun · Chapter 3

Virginia Woolf

Used in the title and the repeated refrain as a pun on 'Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?' — it stands for the terror of facing life without comforting illusions, not merely a reference to the author.

noun · Chapter 3