In Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Edward Albee revealed the "not so perfect" lives of two couples of different generations. Both couples suffered hardships, lies, pain, and jealousy. The basis of each of their marriages was unstable. Nick only married Honey because he thought that she was pregnant. George married Martha because he wanted to be more successful in life. Marriages on those grounds only lead to trouble, no matter how much love is entwined. Out of the four characters in the play, Martha is the most colorful. She is a vivid character that no one seems to forget. Her behavior, personality, and appearance represent a woman who is crying out for attention and love. .
Martha's behavior can be interpreted as yearning for attention from George. Martha comes downstairs after changing her clothes, and she looks extremely voluptuous. She shows off herself, and speaks to George saying "You like it? Good!"(Albee, 47). It seems as if she changes her clothes to impress Nick, however deep down inside she wants George to look at her with loving eyes. She craves for any type of reaction from George. "I said I was impressed, Martha. I"m beside myself with jealousy-(49). When George doesn't pay any attention to her, she becomes furious. George doesn't seem to mind when Martha is with Nick. "They"re chimes, Martha. Why don't you go back to your necking and stop bothering me? I want to read."(172). Martha reacts with, "Why, you miserable . I"ll show you."(172). Martha sincerely loves George, but needs affection from her husband. .
Martha's personality is distinguished as a loud, degrading, daddy's girl. She constantly has something nasty and hurtful to say to George. She knows that he won't say anything back to her, so she uses that to its full capacity. The words that George took worst of all was when Martha told Nick and Honey about his novel. "The hell I won't. Keep away from me, you bastard! No, Sir, this isn't a novel at all this is the truth this really happened TO ME!" (137).
