Quotes from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“I said I was impressed, Martha. I'm beside myself with jealousy. What do you want me to do, throw up?”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“Martha: Truth or illusion, George; you don't know the difference.
George: No, but we must carry on as though we did.
Martha: Amen.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“Dashed hopes and good intentions. Good, better, best, bested.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“George, who is out somewhere there in the dark, who is good to me - whom I revile, who can keep learning the games we play as quickly as I can change them. Who can make me happy and I do not wish to be happy. And yes, I do wish to be happy. George and Martha: Sad, sad, sad. Whom I will not forgive for having come to rest; for having seen me and having said: “Yes, this will do”. Who has made the hideous, the hurting, the insulting mistake of loving… me, and must be punished for it. George and Martha… Sad, sad, sad.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“You want to dance with me, angel tits?”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“Martha: Oh, I like your anger. I think that's what I like about you most. Your anger.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“And the west, encumbered by crippling alliances, and hardened with a morality too rigid to accommodate itself to the swing of events, must ..... eventually ..... fall.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“You don't see anything, do you? You see everything but the goddamn mind; you see all the little specs and crap, but you don't see what goes on, do you?”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“HONEY: (Apologetically, holding up her brandy bottle) I peel labels.
GEORGE: We all peel labels, sweetie; and when you get through the skin, all three layers, through the muscle, slosh aside the organs (An aside to NICK) them which is still sloshable--(Back to HONEY) and get down to bone...you know what you do then?
HONEY: (Terribly interested) No!
GEORGE: When you get down to bone, you haven't got all the way, yet. There's something inside the bone...the marrow...and that's what you gotta get at. (A strange smile at MARTHA)”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“You...you've been here quite a long time, haven't you?"
What? Oh...yes. Ever since I married What's-her-name. Uh, Martha. Even before that. Forever. Dashed hopes, and good intentions. Good, better, best, bested. How do you like that for a declension, young man?”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“Musical beds is the faculty sport around here.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“I am a doctor. A.B.... M.A.... PH.D....ABMAPHID! Abmaphid has been variously described as a wasting disease of the frontal lobes, and as a wonder drug. It is actually both.I'm really very mistrustful.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“Martha: ... I cry allllll the time; but deep inside, so no one can see me. I cry all the time. And Georgie cries all the time, too. We both cry all the time, and then what we do, we cry, and we take our tears, and we put 'em in the ice box, in the goddamn ice trays until they're all frozen and then... we put them... in our... drinks.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“...who tolerates, which is intolerable; who is kind, which is cruel; who understands, which is beyond comprehension...”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“George who is out somewhere there in the dark... George who is good to me, and whom I revile; who understands me, and whom I push off; who can make me laugh, and I choke it back in my throat; who can hold me, at night, so that it's warm, and whom I will bite so there's blood; who keeps learning the games we play as quickly as I can change the rules; who can make me happy and I do not wish to be happy, and yes I do wish to be happy. George and Martha: sad, sad, sad... whom I will not forgive for having come to rest; for having seen me and having said: yes; this will do; who has made the hideous, the hurting, the insulting mistake of loving me and must be punished for it. George and Martha: sad, sad, sad... who tolerates, which is intolerable; who is kind, which is cruel; who understands, which is beyond comprehension...”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“There's no limit to you, is there?”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“Alright... what do you want me to say? Do you want me to say it’s funny, so you can contradict me and say it’s sad? Or do you want me to say it’s sad so you can turn around and say no, it’s funny. You can play that damn little game any way you want to, you know!”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“Awww, 'tis the refuge we take when the unreality of the world weighs too heavy on our tiny heads.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“Пьем за слепое духовное око, за сердечный покой и за цирроз печени.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“The most profound indication of social malignancy ... no sense of humor. None of the monoliths could take a joke.”
― Edward Albee, quote from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

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