Page 127 [127]
OCR
CREATION OF CRUELTY a desperate and angry George throws a bottle at the bar cabinet, which then breaks into pieces. Ihe room, drenched in silence immediately after, testifies to the new level of aggression that has been reached. Even Martha, who is known for her guick-thinking response time, needs a few moments to decide what kind of tone she should adopt: "I hope that was an empty bottle, George. You dont want to waste good liguor ... not on your salary." She is not intimidated by the rising level of heightened emotions. This is where the first act of the drama — which is well suited to its title “Fun and Games” — ends: the playing of cruel games has begun, where breaking the rules serves as a means of torturing George. Rule breaking (primarily mentioning the child) results in the disintegration of the former unstable structure, leading directly to the second act, Walpurgisnacht*, in which the third part of the game already carries the above change within itself. It is important, however, that Martha continues to use her well-established tactics, that is, to verbally attempt to humiliate her husband. The center of this story is George’s unsuccessful book, and how Daddy prohibited the publication of the manuscript. The words of his father-in-law reiterate the example of verbal aggression, the purpose of which — both in the past on Daddy’s part and in the present through Martha — is George’s humiliation: “Look here, kid, you don’t think for a second I’m going to let you publish this crap, do you? Not on your life, baby... not while you're teaching here... You publish that goddamn book and you’re out ... on your ass!”*° The Book-mentioner — as opposed to the previous two games, which can be interpreted as an attack on George’s physical weakness and, later, on his social ability — targets his intellect, which is a more sensitive point than those which come before. During the night, the growing pain of aggression and cruelty, as well as the pain of Martha’s verbal abuse, are all reflected in George’s reaction: no longer satisfied with a symbolic murder after his “’LL KILL YOU!” exclamation, he launches himself at his wife and begins to strangle her until Nick succeeds in separating the couple. GET THE GUESTS “THE GAME IS OVER"? — says George, thus ending the trials of Humiliate the Host, and as a result (through the endured humiliation) he begins his rite of passage. It is important to highlight that, among the participants, George is 38 Ibid. 39 Allan Lewis: The Fun and Games of Edward Albee, Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1 (1964), 34, http://www.jstor.org/. 10 Albee: Ibid., 135. 41 Tbid., 137. 4 Ibid., 136.
