The Character Who Wasn't There: Daddy in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Miriam Fernando 12th Grade

In the drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Edward Albee meticulously constructs Daddy as a character who is both ever present and tied to the representation of major themes in the play. Albee uses the looming yet absent presence of Daddy to bring out traits in other characters and also depict their relationships in an especially stark light. Daddy is almost life-like in the relationship of George and Martha, while simultaneously serving as the supernatural, fictional presence that draws attention to the rituals, cycles, conflict and escapism, thus bringing about the ideology behind Albee's theatre of the absurd.

On a superficial level, primarily, Daddy is revealed as a major factor in Martha’s life, supported by her talking of her “rapport” with him. The audience also sees his importance to her in Martha wanting her son’s eyes to be green, as “Daddy’s eyes were green, too.” Simultaneously, Daddy is Martha’s trump card, the final word in any given argument with George. When trying to sort a thing out between them, George is cut off with “Daddy said…” this signifies that Daddy stands as a third person in their relationship. In addition, Martha admits that George is the only one to make her happy, but in the contrary, because...