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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,
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Terence
Everything about this play falls into place once you realize that all four characters are gay men. A reviewer in the New York Times noticed this in the mid-1960s, and it proved very helpful to me. Indeed, he went further and noted that other gay playwrights had done the same thing. For example, Blanche DuBois makes more sense once you consider the possibility that she is a gay man in drag.
Tom Brooks
By "the ending" I can only assume you mean the revelation of the fact that there is no real ***, and the implications of this. Since you haven't given any clue to what PART(s) of the ending (or implications thereof) you might be interpreting differently, here's my take-away in a nutshell. George says it to Martha in the original version of the script: "...you've moved bag and baggage into your own fantasy world now, and you've started playing variations on your own distortions..."
In a desperate attempt to get away from reality, she has indeed begun to believe in the fantasy she and George have woven together. Yet, as the script proves, she is aware (on some level) of her gaff. Is there hope left at the end? --hope for George and Martha, I mean. I believe so, and I think the script supports that. No, I do not think the marriage is all hunky-dory in the light of day, but there is no way to go back under the cover and down the rabbit hole of the previously constructed fantasy. They will deal with each other on more genuine terms, and it will either destroy them (ending in divorce), or bring them closer together. George is ready to try, and he also acknowledges the uncertain outcome with one of his last lines, "It will be better" ... "It will be. . .maybe."
WHY THE EXORCISM?
By my own interpretation, George and Martha are Godless people, as evidenced by the way "G*ddamn" rolls of their tongues so effortlessly, and numerous other clues. Yet there is a Bible in George's book shelves, a book he is obviously familiar with. (By the way, I do NOT mean to imply the couple is being "punished" as non-believers. I am simply observing that Martha is a self-described atheist, though George corrects her as being a pagan.) George is seeking to...well, he is on the one hand striking out in retaliation (and/or self defense) and in anger, but by the end he has the experience of rekindled love for Martha.
Hope this helps, Margot.
In a desperate attempt to get away from reality, she has indeed begun to believe in the fantasy she and George have woven together. Yet, as the script proves, she is aware (on some level) of her gaff. Is there hope left at the end? --hope for George and Martha, I mean. I believe so, and I think the script supports that. No, I do not think the marriage is all hunky-dory in the light of day, but there is no way to go back under the cover and down the rabbit hole of the previously constructed fantasy. They will deal with each other on more genuine terms, and it will either destroy them (ending in divorce), or bring them closer together. George is ready to try, and he also acknowledges the uncertain outcome with one of his last lines, "It will be better" ... "It will be. . .maybe."
WHY THE EXORCISM?
By my own interpretation, George and Martha are Godless people, as evidenced by the way "G*ddamn" rolls of their tongues so effortlessly, and numerous other clues. Yet there is a Bible in George's book shelves, a book he is obviously familiar with. (By the way, I do NOT mean to imply the couple is being "punished" as non-believers. I am simply observing that Martha is a self-described atheist, though George corrects her as being a pagan.) George is seeking to...well, he is on the one hand striking out in retaliation (and/or self defense) and in anger, but by the end he has the experience of rekindled love for Martha.
Hope this helps, Margot.
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