George and Martha, an Analysis

While we're on the topic of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, I wrote this for my psych class:

George and Martha present an interesting case.  They are a middle-aged, married couple – George is 46, Martha is 52 – living in the New England college town of New Carthage.  George is a History Professor and Martha is daughter of the university president. 

Martha married George in a fit of infatuation.  Their love has since turned to empty love.  They are committed to each other, but their relationship lacks intimacy or passion.  Neither has romantic feelings or physical attraction for the other.  Martha seeks to vent her sexual desire by pursuing a series of affairs with younger men.  They were originally drawn together by mutual passion, and – on George’s part – a desire to move up in the History department.  They are no forced together by the commitment of marriage. 

Their frustration with this situation has led to increased aggression.  George and Martha cannot have children, which frustrates them greatly.  Martha is also frustrated with George’s failure to move ahead in life.  She calls him a “bog” in the History department to others and uses “swampy” as a nickname when she is talking to him.  Martha’s frustration and aggression also derive in part from the factor of relative deprivation.  As the daughter of the university president, she thinks she should be able to advance her husband in some way even if he were useless; when she compares herself to the other history department wives and to her expectations for herself, she feels intense deprivation.  This leads to aggression.  George is rejected by Martha.  She taunts him and makes him feel less than human.  This breeds aggression in George.  After years of this treatment combined with the mutual frustration of the relationship, George is out for revenge.  On the night this couple was observed, these situational factors were amplified by the disinhibition bred by alcohol consumption.  George and Martha began drinking at a faculty party around 9:00 PM and continued to drink until 4:30 AM.  They had guests over around 2:00 AM.  The lateness of this night also creates physical discomfort – extreme exhaustion –, which amplifies the aggression between the two even further.

This couple will stay married.  It would be unacceptable for them to separate for a variety of social factors.  But they do not address the main source of their frustration.  They have created an imaginary son to replace the one they could not conceive and they use him as a pawn in their mind games instead of addressing the fact that they have created an imaginary child as a crutch.  Martha, an alcoholic, will continue to drink.  George will continue to submit to Martha’s attacks only to vent in a fit of futile catharsis. On the night this couple was observed, George’s attack came when he killed their imaginary son.  Their aggression will continue to grow and perpetuate itself, each attack bringing a counter attack of greater intensity.