THE SYMBOLIC MOTIF OF ‘CHILDISH GAMES’ IN ALBEE’S PLAYS THE ZOO STORY AND WHO IS AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

Eliso Sukhitashvili

Authors

Eliso Sukhitashvili

Keywords:

Edward Albee, Harmful Games, The Zoo Story

Abstract

This article focuses on Edward Albee's plays The Zoo Story and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The article also discusses the ‘first act’ of The Zoo Story written after about a half of a century and presents these works written in different periods as a whole with the symbolic background of the ‘harmful games’ of the characters. The author ironically represents the members of academic society. The characters in the plays are reduced to an animal level, to the ‘the state of nature’ by ‘childish games,’ but they no longer want to be in the state and prefer to face the truth. The story that starts in the ‘prequel’ to The Zoo Story, ends in Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the ultimate game that is directed against the Creator, still continues and ends with chaos, ends with the most intense form of Hobbesian ‘state of nature.’

Full Text (PDF)

Author Biography

Eliso Sukhitashvili

Eliso Sukhitashvili studied English Philology at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in 2011-2015 and earned a Bachelor’s degree. In 2015-2017 she graduated with a master's degree in English Philology from the same university. Now she is a PhD student at the same university and is researching English-language avant-garde drama. Her interests include English and American playwrights.

References

Saint Augustine. (1996). Confessions. Translated into Georgian by Bachana Bregadze

Albee, Edward. (1958). The American Dream and The Zoo Story. A Signet Book.

Albee, Edward. (1962). Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf. A New American Library. USA

Albee, Edward. (2004). At Home at the Zoo.

Hobbes, Thomas. (2003). On the Citizen. Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought. Edited by Richard Tuck and Michael Silverthorne.

Pugh, Tison. (2018). “Edward Albee’s Sadomasochistic Ludonarratology in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The Journal of American Drama and Theatre. Volume 31. Number 1.

Sykes, Carol A. (1973). “Albee's Beast Fables: "The Zoo Story" and "A Delicate Balance."” Educational Theatre Journal. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Vol. 25. No. 4. pp. 448-455

Taylor, Charlene M. “Coming of Age in New Carthage: Albee's Grown-up Children.”(1973). Educational Theatre Journal. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Vol. 25. No. 1. Pp. 53-65

Internet source: (10.06.21) “Georgie Porgie” Lyrics. https://allnurseryrhymes.com/georgie-porgie/

Internet source: (10.06.21) Homo homini lupus (Man to man is an arrant wolf) / Homo homini deus (Man to man is a kind of God) http://www.antiquitatem.com/en/homo-hominilupus/

Internet source: (10.06.21) De Cive by Thomas Hobbes https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/en/decive1.htm#115

Internet source: (10.06.21) Freud, Sigmund. (1930). Civilization and its Discontents. https://www.stephenhicks.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/FreudS-CIVILIZATION-AND-ITSDISCONTENTS-text-final.pdf