Truth or Illusion - Literature Essay Samples

Truth or illusion? When the fantasy world people create in order to cope with the absurdity of life is brought too far into reality, it becomes hard to distinguish between authenticity and fiction. This ambiguity is apparent in both Edward Albees Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House, in which marital relationships are solely based on illusion. Both couples in the dramas use illusions to avoid feeling the truth and the pain of failures. Yet, in the end, they are forced to wake up from the fake world in which they have lived and by openly expressing their feelings create hope for progress. It is essential to strip away illusion in order to experience life truthfully and fully.The relationship between Martha and George in Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, is troubling from the very beginning, for it was founded upon illusion. Martha married George not because of who he really was, but, because of who she imagined he could become. As she tells Nick in the first ac t, I got the idea about then of marrying into the collegewhich didnt seem to be as stupid as it turned out (Albee 79). Her father was the president of the College in New Carthage, and Martha, being his only child, hoped to gain control of it herself through marriage. Thus, she married the illusion of George, who also bought into it himself. Yet, when they realized that this illusion is not real, because George didnt have the guts to (Albee 85) succeed her father, their marriage was hurt significantly.Yet, the dominant illusion in George and Marthas lives lies in the seed of their relationship. Because they couldnt have any children of their own and lived a miserable life, they decided to create an imaginary child. Thus, the binding force in their relationship is also an illusion. Although Albee does not tell the audience directly of the childs unreality until the very end, he provides clues that imply this throughout the play. The first hint is provided when George warns Martha not to start in on the bit about the kid (Albee 18) as their two a.m. guests arrive at the door. The boys physical perfection blond haired, blue eyed also foreshadows the fact that he is an illusion. Then, as George and Martha use the kid to attack each other, their bizarre insults adds to the unreality of the boy. Martha first says that George used to make him sick all the time and George counterattacks by claiming that the real reason our sonused to throw up all the time was [because] he couldnt stand you fiddling at him (Albee 120). Finally, in the last act when George informs Martha that their son has been killed and Martha tells him that he cannot decide these things (Albee 232) it becomes apparent, even to Nick, that their son is merely a creation of the mind. Through Marthas reaction, however, it can be seen that the blurring of illusion and reality can cause something that is solely delusional to have a very real emotional impact.Similarly, in A Dolls House Nora and Torvalds who le marriage is built on illusions. The characters untruthfulness and dishonesty towards each other marks their whole relationship. This is first revealed when Torvald asks Nora whether or not she broke any rules today and had taken a bite at a macaroon or two (Ibsen 6). Despite the fact that the audience had just seen Nora pop macaroons into her mouth as she came in, Nora completely denies it and tells Torvald falsely that I should not think of going against your wishes (Ibsen 6). Ibsen uses situational irony here to show that their whole marriage is based on fake appearances.The greatest deception in their relationship, however, is in the form of Noras secret debt. When Torvald was ill, she secretly borrowed money from Krogstad in order to travel to a southern climate to improve his condition. Until this day, Nora has not mentioned the matter to her husband and had been secretly repaying the debt, for she claims that Torvald and their marriage cannot sustain the knowledge of this s ecret. How painful and humiliating it would be for Torvald, with his manly independence, to know that he owed me anything. It would upset our mutual relations altogether; (Ibsen 13). Thus, Torvalds manly independence is only an illusion making the basis by which they treat each other also fake.Illusions are so common in both dramas that they mix in with reality until even the characters find it hard to differentiate between what appears to be true and what is false. In fact, in most of Albees play, George and Martha are engaging in emotional and psychological games. This becomes evident when Martha says to the bewildered Nick that there is only one man in my life who has evermade me happyGeorge (Albee 189-190). Despite continuously insulting and humiliating George, Martha still truly loves him. With this paradox Albee hints that their arguments are merely part of a game and that not everything is as it appears to be. Martha supports this idea when she advises Nick that he should not always deal in appearance (Albee 190). Furthermore, the only reason Martha seduces Nick is to get Georges attention and make him jealous. Yet, George acts as though he is indifferent and starts reading a book while Martha sexually entertains Nick. Later, it becomes apparent when George releases his fury alone on stage that he was only pretending not to care. Thus, their actions may all be false appearances. Nick even comments at the end that he doesnt know when George and Martha are lying. By blurring the lines between truth and illusion, Albee shows that it is not important whether something is a lie or not, yet the importance lies in how people choose to exist in a situation that theyve found themselves trapped.As a result of the lies between Nora and Torvald, the roles they each assume in their marriage are merely appearance. Nora, for example, takes the role of a child-wife and mother who is completely dependent on Torvald and who is a spendthrift when it comes to money. Torval d also supports this illusion through the names he uses to refer to her. For example, he calls Nora my little squirrel and my little skylark (Ibsen 4). Ibsen uses animal imagery to show that Torvald regards Nora as a small helpless creature. Nora in turn strengthens her fabricated role by acting as she knows Torvald wants her to be. The full falseness of her actions only becomes clear in the last scene of Act One when Nora tells Torvald that she absolutely needs his help, even with such a trifling issue as picking a costume for the upcoming ball. Torvald, couldnt you take me in hand and decide what I shall go asI cant get along a bit without your help (Ibsen 27). The audience knows, however, that Nora is not as helpless as she acts, for she had decided all by herself the important issue of borrowing money in order to save Torvalds life. Thus, the Nora Torvald thinks he is married to is merely an illusion, and Torvald cannot tell the difference between the fake, helpless Nora and the real one.Furthermore, Torvald takes the role of Noras protector, who would risk his life in order to save her. This is the wonderful thing (Ibsen 48) that Nora thinks is going to happen when Torvald finds out about her debt and forgery. Since women at that time could not sign a loan, even if it was for the sake of their family, Nora forged her fathers signature when she borrowed money from Krogstad, who now threatens to expose and humiliate her. Torvald, however, has also led her to believe that he will rescue her from this problem. He even tells Nora after he finds out that his best friend, Dr. Rank, is dying: Do you know, Nora, I have often wished that you might be threatened by some great danger, so that I might risk my lifes blood and everything for your sake (Ibsen 58). Yet, this was only an illusion of Torvald that Nora actually believed. When the time comes for him to find out about the debt, Torvald proves that he was a hypocrite and vulgarly abuses Nora for bringing this s hame upon him and even renounces her as his wife.At the end of each drama all these illusions are destroyed forcing the characters to come face to face with reality. In Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, George resolves the play by declaring the death of their imaginary son, who drove into a large tree as he swerved to avoid a porcupine (Albee 231). This is a form of paradox where Albee uses illusion to destroy another illusion. Though the boy, when he was a secret, provided a means of binding George and Martha together, after he was introduced to the real world, he became a source by which they attacked each other. Thus, George realizes that their kid has been brought too far into reality resulting in a negative effect on their marital relationship. As a result, he sacrifices the boy, who can be seen as a Christ figure, in order to save their marriage. In fact, Albee entitles the last Act The Exorcism referring to Georges exorcism of the destructive power of their illusory son on thei r marriage. When George tells Martha at the end that It will bebetter she answers with I dontknow (Albee 240). Although there is uncertainty as to whether or not their marriage will make it, at least now there is hope for progress because they can finally live honestly and truthfully without illusions. Yet, they must now experience reality no matter how painful it is, which scares Martha. Thus, the title of the play can, in fact, be translated into whos afraid to live without illusions?In A Dolls House, the illusion of Nora and Torvalds marriage is also destroyed giving them a chance to progress as individuals. At the end, when Torvalds reaction to the news of Noras forgery is far from what she expected, she realizes that she has been living with a complete stranger. Nora admits to him that when the wonderful thing did not happen, then I saw you were not the man I had thought you (Ibsen 66). Discovering that her husband confuses appearance with value and that he is more concerned wi th his position in society than with the emotional needs of his wife, Nora is forced to confront her personal worthlessness. She realizes that she has been living in a dolls house and that her husband has been playing with her just as [she] used to play with her dolls (Ibsen 63). In fact, their first honest expression of feeling happens at the end when Nora confronts Torvald about her conclusions. Thus, she destroys their doll house by deciding to leave her husband and search for her identity. This creates hope for truthful human relationships in the future. Perhaps in years to come, Nora and Torvald will also be able to restore their marriage.Both Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and A Dolls House question the entire fabric of marital relationships. The marriage between each couple in the dramas was solely based on illusion. This in turn blurs the line between reality and fantasy and creates unreal, meaningless lives. A life of illusion is wrong because it produces a false content in life. Only by expressing true feelings and emotions can relationships actually progress.