Somehow, the title of Edward Albee's most prominent play, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, leads the reader to believe that the play is centered on the writer, Virginia Woolf. Other than the intense psychological confrontation, the almost stream of consciousness dialogue and the sing-song rendition of a play on the words 'big bad wolf', the play has no connection to Virginia Woolf. .
The major theme of the play seems to be that cruelty and violence are not only inherent in the nature of Man but that they also play a significant role in some relationships. It's difficult to keep from wondering if the tone and depth of the relationship between George and Martha in the play was reflective of Albee's own past. .
That doesn't seem to be entirely the case, however. Albee was adopted within a month of his birth into a very financially secure but emotionally depleted family. He left the home while still in his teens and did not return until the death of his mother some years later. .
The characters in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? are driven to mistreat each other so bitterly by a deep, nagging despair at the way their lives have evolved and the seeming lack of affection, combined with a deep need for attention, love and a sense of respect. The world inside the closed front room of the set allows for the airing of feelings that are repressed and regretted on a day to day basis. To ask, "was this true of Albee's early home life or the relationship between his adoptive parents?" is merely rhetorical. The only way he is talking is by writing. .
George feels inadequate, which is reinforced continually by Martha. He seems to be a masochist, where, in reality he is probably terribly insecure. He has the same fear of aging as does Martha but it is seen as an acceptance of his failure as a human, as a man and in his career. In a way he does enjoy the suffering because he is able to 'punish' himself by being the victim.