Edward Albee's Dramatic Vision of Women

Dramatic history is full of works which revolve around the idea of feminine evil. The misogynistic streak that is found in the works of many playwrights is bound to the undeniable fact that men can not do without women. A case in point here is Edward Albee. A review of Albee¿s women confirms the dramatist¿s anti-female attitude and accentuates the role played by these women in his world. Edward Albee launches severe campaigns of hostility and contempt towards women. However, mixed with these feelings of hatred and disgust is a kind of ¿grudging admiration of their strength, or for their triumph over their weakness¿. The practices of his female characters echo the famous Nietzschean term ¿will to power¿, a term he associates with the ¿instinct for freedom¿. What is interesting is Albee¿s paradoxical view of women, he despises women of great power yet he admires their strength and intelligence. When we approach Albee¿s plays with ¿gender¿ in mind, certain aspects are brought to the fore. Female characters from this perspective are given special significance and light is cast on other concepts like motherhood, conflicts in women¿s lives, and power relations between men and women.