Edward Albee ve Varoluşçu Tiyatro: Kim Korkar Hain Kurttan? Oyununda Gerçeklik ve İllüzyon

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 2, 253 - 266, 22.10.2024

Merve Feryal Ashmawy

https://doi.org/10.31465/eeder.1429895

Öz

Bu makalede, Edward Albee’nin 1962 yılında kaleme aldığı Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? oyununun toplumsal normları ve idealleri sorgulama kapasitesiyle dikkat çektiği ve potansiyel liberteryen yaklaşımının izleyiciler üzerinde şok edici bir etki bıraktığı vurgulanmaktadır. Oyun, orta yaşlı çift George ve Martha ile genç çift Nick ve Honey’nin arasında geçen bir geceyi konu almaktadır. Temelde çiftler arasındaki karmaşık ilişkiler, gerçeklik kavramı ve varoluşun absürtlüğüne odaklanan oyun, karakterlerin geçmiş travmalarını ve hayal kırıklıklarını ele alarak insan psikolojisinin derinliklerine inmektedir. İletişim çöküşleri ve karakterler arasındaki çatışmalar, insan ilişkilerinin kırılganlığını vurgular. Oyunun ana temalarından biri hayal kırıklığıdır, karakterlerin geçmişteki beklentileriyle gerçeklik arasındaki uçurum vurgulanır. George ve Martha’nın ilişkisindeki iletişim eksikliği, seyirciye duygusal bağların ne kadar kırılgan olabileceğini gösterir. Existansiyalist tiyatro bağlamında, makale existansiyalist felsefenin temel ilkelerine odaklanarak, bireyin özgürlüğü, sorumluluğu, varoluşsal deneyim üzerine derinlemesine bir analiz sunar. Karakterlerin kendi varoluşsal gerçeklikleriyle yüzleşmeleri ve kimliklerini anlamaları sağlanarak existansiyalist temalar işlenir. Gerçeklik ile illüzyon arasındaki ince çizgi, Martha ve George’un ilişkisindeki karmaşıklık aracılığıyla ortaya çıkar. İllüzyonun çözülmesi, seyirciye karakterlerin içsel dünyalarını keşfetme fırsatı sunar. Bu bağlamda, oyun existansiyalist temaları işleyerek insan ilişkilerinin karmaşıklığını vurgulayan güçlü bir dramatik eserdir. Oyun, Amerikan tiyatrosuna önemli katkı sağlamış, modern dramatik yapıları etkilemiş ve edebi dünyada önemli bir konum elde etmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Varoluşçuluk, İllüzyon, Gerçeklik, Edward Albee

Edward Albee and Existentialist Theatre: Reality and Illusion in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Öz

This article underscores that Edward Albee’s 1962 play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is notable for its capacity to scrutinize social norms and ideals, with its potential libertarian approach leaving a shocking impact on the audience. The play revolves around a night involving the middle-aged couple George and Martha and the young couple Nick and Honey. It primarily explores the intricate dynamics between couples, the concept of reality, and the absurdity of existence, delving into the depths of human psychology by addressing the characters’ past traumas and disappointments. Communication breakdowns and conflicts among the characters accentuate the fragility of human relationships, with disappointment being a central theme that underscores the disparity between past expectations and reality. The play, analyzed within the framework of existentialist theatre, provides a thorough examination of individual freedom, responsibility, and existential experience, focusing on the fundamental tenets of existentialist philosophy. It addresses existentialist themes by enabling characters to confront their own existential realities and understand their identities. The intricate relationship between Martha and George reveals the fine line between reality and illusion, and the dissolution of this illusion provides the audience with the opportunity to explore the inner worlds of the characters. In this context, the play emerges as a potent dramatic work that underscores the complexity of human relations through its engagement with existentialist themes. The play has made a significant contribution to American theatre, influencing modern dramatic structures and securing a prominent position in the literary world.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Existentialism, Illusion, Reality, Edward Albee.

Kaynakça

• Adhikary, R. (2023). The absurdity of human existence in Albee’s drama <em> Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?</em>. Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(1), 45-51. https://doi.org/10.4038/sljssh.v3i1.84
• Albee, E. (1970). Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Atheneum. Newyork.
• Bashir, L. m. (2018). El teatro absurdo es un espejo de la realidad. Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences, 214(2), 85-104. https://doi.org/10.36473/ujhss.v214i2.634
• Coby, L. (2023). Muppets take windows 95: the queer failure of muppets inside: cd‐rom. The Journal of American Culture, 46(3), 224-231. https://doi.org/10.1111/jacc.13482
• Cooper, D. (1991). Existentialism: a reconstruction. Choice Reviews Online, 28(11), 28-6189-28-6189. https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.28-6189
• Çavuşoğlu, H. (2017). General Views Of Existentialism And Existentialists. Journal of Social And Humanities Sciences Research (JSHSR) 2017 Vol:4 Issue:12 pp:772-780
• Davidson, R. (1968). Edward Albee's Tiny Alice: a note of re-examination. Modern Drama, 11(1), 54-60. https://doi.org/10.3138/md.11.1.54
• Esslin, Martin(1960). "The Theatre of the Absurd." Tulane Drama Review, 4 (4), 3-15.
• Jaf, S. (2015). Illusion in Edward Albee's selected play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 3(4), 60. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150304.15
• Kahn, A., Lipovetsky, M., Reyfman, I., & Sandler, S. (2018). Prose and drama. Oxford Scholarship Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199663941.003.0036
• König, P. D. (2020). Truth versus ignorance in democratic politics: an existentialist perspective on the democratic promise of political freedom. Contemporary Political Theory, 20(3), 614-635. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41296-020-00436-y
• Leonard, N. W. Albee's Martha and Kesey's big nurse : two studies in illusion, female dominance, and oedipal conflict.. https://doi.org/10.58809/buzl9978
• Mayer, C. (2021). Albert camus – a psychobiographical approach in times of covid-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.644579
• Meyer, R. (1968). Truth and Illusion in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Educational Theatre Journal , Mar., 1968, Vol. 20, No. 1, 20th-Century American Theatre Issue (Mar., 1968), pp. 60-69
• Nabi, N. and Ahmed, F. (2015). Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story: echo/es of Contemporary Subversive Culture. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.1p.235
• Pinder, J. (2022). Locating the impolitical in American theatre: Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Schechner’s dionysus in 69. New Theatre Quarterly, 38(2), 172-185. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266464x22000069
• Querido, P. (2017). Untitled. The Modern Language Review, 112(3), 688. https://doi.org/10.5699/modelangrevi.112.3.0688
• Rao, B. P. (2022). An existential predicament of modern man in girish karnad’s hayavadana. Towards Excellence, 443-451. https://doi.org/10.37867/te140238
• Sartre, J.P. (1957). Being and Nothingness. An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology. Philosophical Library.
• Sartre, J.P. (1948). Existentialism is a Humanism, trans. Carol Macomber (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007), 22.
• Sasani, S. (2014). Pathological interaction in edward albee's who's afraid of virginia woolf?. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(7). https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.7.1483-1491
• Soomro, A. R., Shah, S. M. H., & Arain, R. (2022). Commodification and alienation in Edward Albee's play the sandbox. Global Language Review, VII(II), 532-538. https://doi.org/10.31703/glr.2022(vii-ii).44
• Susandro, S., Afrizal, H., Saaduddin, S., & Suisno, E. (2020). Parabolic drama: penyangkalan teoretik terhadap teater absurd. Melayu Arts and Performance Journal, 3(1), 49. https://doi.org/10.26887/mapj.v3i1.1342
• Yaşar, Y. (2013). Edward Albee’s who is afraid of virginia woolf? Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. https://doi.org/10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n8p768
• Zaheer, F., Aryan, A., & Shah, B. (2022). Deconstructive intertextual presentation of psychological fragmentation and alienation in the selected plays of Edward Albee. Global Language Review, VII(II), 442-453. https://doi.org/10.31703/glr.2022(vii-ii).36
• Zalokar, P. (2009). Productions of Edward Albee's plays in Slovenia and the critics' response. Acta Neophilologica, 42(1-2), 93-110. https://doi.org/10.4312/an.42.1-2.93-110