Essay Questions

What is the point of Albee naming the characters A, B and C?

A, B and C are all the same woman, just at different stages of life. The irony is that the older woman is A and not C, and we can come to understand that C may expect to move forward in life but will eventually only move backwards as she becomes A rather than Z.

What is the significance of placing the play in a "wealthy" bedroom?

Albee sets his play in an upper class bedroom of a wealthy home. From this we can see that this family has done well financially, and with this imagery brings the assumption that the lives of those who inhabit the home must have been happy, which Albee reveals they were not. The set design speaks volumes about wealth's inability to buy happiness.

What is the significance of the son returning after 20 years away from his parents?

A is dying and when her son finds out he comes home to see his mother after 20 years. Their relationship was volatile at best, but she accepts him home. The significance of her accepting him back into her life has to do with her loneliness. She was all alone in a big home and she become more and more isolated after her husband died nearly three decades earlier. Thus, her accepting him back was not about forgiveness or forging a relationship that brought meaning to her and his life, but instead about her soothing the ache of her having no one in her life.