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In Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Edward Albee shows that no matter how hard people try, the truth about their lives will leak out past their disillusions.

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George and Martha have created their own little illusion to distract them from the disaster of their marriage and personal lives. This fantasy world that they live in can only be so strong and hold for so long, as they discover at the end of the play.

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How is this theme carried out in the different characters?

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How is this theme carried out in the different characters?

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The characters in the play often argue with one another to protect their version of the reality they want to live in, such as when Nick argues with George against the truth he married his wife for her money. He won't allow himself to come to grips with the person he really is, he wants to be the clean cut and good husband he pictures himself as. He does not want to come to grips with the person he really is, later admitting the only reason he came to George and Martha's house was to get closer to Martha.

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Perhaps the best, and most shocking, example of this theme comes with the revelation that the child of George and Martha is completely fabricated. They had done so in order to give them something in their lives that would keep them from separating from each other. Although they show great hatred for each other in the play, they also have a deep love and know that they cannot live without the other. No matter how much they fight or what they say, they know that their "son" will keep them together at the end of the day. However, they are both adults, and will have to accept the reality of their lives and live with it.

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At the end of the play, this is a lesson George realizes they both must face, and decides to "kill" their son for good. This horrifies Martha, who is afraid of living without the illusion to protect them. To her this is not just the death of their fabricated child, but of the last thing that holds their marriage together when it is at its worst.

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With their "son" now dead, George and Martha must face the reality of themselves and their marriage. Both express this sentiment in the play's closing, George asks Martha "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? (256)", to which she replies "I am George...I am" (256). Taking the song "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf", George replaces it with author Virginia Woolf. Here he takes something fake and replaces something real, to which Martha is afraid of. Reality has caught up to them and they must face the music.