Edward Albee’s “A Delicate Balance”
Act 1 of the plot
Agnes, a wealthy woman in her late fifties, muses on the danger of losing her mind. Although Agnes is surprised by her own ideas of insanity, it is her sister, Claire, who lives with them, who surprises her the most.
Claire enters and apologizes to Agnes for her own nature, which causes her sister to unleash the full force of her savagery. Claire suspects that Tobias and Agnes’ daughter Julia is about to divorce for the fourth time and predicts that Julia will return home soon.
Agnes reappears, announcing Julia’s return. Tobias then narrates the story of a cat he used to own. A knock is heard at the door. Agnes and Tobias’ dearest friends, Harry and Edna, arrive and ask if they can stay. They were terrified by something intangible.
Act II
Agnes and Julia are discussing Harry and Edna’s occupation of Julia’s old bedroom. Harry and Edna have been in the room all day. Julia then complains to Tobias about not having a room. Claire walks in and chastises Julia for her recent divorce.
Julia retaliates against Claire for her drinking. She declares that “there is no use in pushing” the subject of Harry and Edna after asking Tobias for a drink. Harry and Edna appear at the end of Scene 1 with their jackets over their arms. They say they’re leaving but will return with their suitcases.
After dinner, Julia and Agnes are alone in Scene 2. Julia despises her mother’s attempt to dominate everyone’s conversations and feelings. “There is a balance to be maintained…and I must be the fulcrum,” Agnes retorts. Agnes and Tobias depart to assist Harry and Edna with unloading their baggage from the car.
Edna walks in and tells Julia that it is time for her to mature. Julia informs Edna that she is a visitor, to which Edna responds that she and Harry are Agnes and Tobias’ greatest friends. When Harry walks in, he goes to the bar to get everyone a drink. Julia pushes him away from the bar and orders him to leave.
Julia screams, “I WANT…WHAT IS MINE!” and walks out of the room. Agnes reflects on the death of her son. She accuses Tobias of infidelity and asks Harry and Claire to corroborate it, but both deny it. Julia reappears with a gun in her hand after Tobias attempts to justify her as being in hysterics.
She is adamant that Harry and Edna depart. “We have rights here,” Edna declares. “We belong,” she says, insisting that she and Harry will stay there indefinitely, “if necessary.”
Act III
Tobias has been awake all night and is preparing himself a morning cocktail. Agnes emerges from her chamber. She informs Tobias that it is his responsibility to make all decisions regarding Edna and Harry. She reminds Tobias about the time he kept her from becoming pregnant after their son died.
Claire, Julia, Tobias, and Agnes debate why Harry and Edna are there and what they should do about it. Everyone in the room is drinking, including Harry and Edna. Edna informs the women that Harry wishes to speak with Tobias alone.
Despite the fact that they are great friends, Harry and Edna do not believe they would allow Tobias and Agnes to reside at their house if the circumstances were reversed.
“You don’t want us, do you, Toby?” Harry asks. Tobias responds that he does not want Harry and Edna to stay, but that they have the right to be there because they are friends.
He goes with Harry to retrieve their baggage and return them to their car. “Everything becomes…too late, eventually,” Agnes says to Edna. The play concludes with Agnes’ musing on why humans sleep at night: “They say we sleep to let the devils out, to let the mind go raving insane, and when the sun comes again… comes order with it.”
Characters in A Delicate Balance
Agnes
Agnes is the play’s major female character. She is a wealthy woman in her fifties who is married to Tobias. She is also Julia’s mother and Claire’s sister. Agnes considers herself to be the family’s fulcrum, keeping everyone in check.
She frequently keeps this equilibrium, or order, by not confronting difficulties, taking a stand, or processing feelings. She attempts to keep the peace by avoiding anything that could upset it.
Agnes seemed to be entirely supportive of her husband Tobias. She looks to him to confirm her thoughts, and he looks to her to confirm his. It is not until near the end of the play that she brings up concerns that reveal fissures in her marriage.
When the memories of her son’s death surface in her mind, she reflects on how painful that time was for her, a time when she questioned everything, including her husband’s love and faithfulness to her.
Agnes begins and finishes the drama on her insane ideas, despite feeling like the fulcrum. She wonders if she could suddenly go insane and what that would be like. She wonders what her husband would do in such a situation. Is she going to be an embarrassment to him? Agnes suffers greatly from embarrassment.
Agnes is easily humiliated by her sister Claire, whom she believes has squandered her life and talent. As Claire insists she is not an alcoholic, Agnes cynically remarks, “that’s quite good.” Next, she goes through a litany of times Claire has vomited, collapsed, and sought for help from the club. She ends her remark, “If we change for the worst with drink, we are an alcoholic.”
Agnes’ relationship with Julia, her daughter, is not much better. Julia also humiliates her mother. Tobias begs Agnes to go talk to Julia when she grows upset. “I don’t have the time,” Agnes responds. Agnes gets self-absorbed rather than empathizing with Julia. She tells her spouse that she has been through a lot more than her daughter.
Agnes’ relationships are all marked by the same self-absorption. She is easily immersed in self-pity and feels herself to be superior to everyone around her. If she is the fulcrum of the family’s balance, Albee depicts her as a very unstable one. Albee has stated that his adopted mother inspired the character of Agnes.
Claire
Agnes’ younger sister is Claire. She claims to be a purposeful drinker rather than an alcoholic. Claire has the loosest tongue of all the characters in the play, whether owing to the booze or not. She speaks her mind and is unaffected by social etiquette.
Claire lives with Agnes and Tobias and appears to rely solely on them for assistance. Her primary role in life appears to be to irritate and shame her sister. She embodies everything Agnes despises.
Claire declares that she will never know whether she wants to live until Agnes is gone, after informing Tobias that he would be better off killing Agnes, Julia, and herself. With this sentence, Albee implies that Claire regards Agnes as a role model, one that she has never been able to emulate.
Instead of attempting to achieve it, she has gone out of her way to live her life in a diametrically opposed manner.
Claire’s friendship with Julia is the closest she has with anyone. She and Julia connect with one another as the “other”—people on the outskirts of Tobias and Agnes’ existence.
Claire and Julia are the outcasts, failures, and embarrassments that must be endured. Claire greets Julia more honestly and warmly than Julia’s parents do when she arrives home.
Despite Claire’s apparent dislike for her sister, she has never revealed Tobias’ romance to Agnes. It is unclear if she does this out of love or spite. She keeps the affair disguised, almost as if she has a hidden weapon that she guards against the possibility of having to use it one day.
As Agnes asks Claire to confirm her suspicions about Tobias, Claire responds, “Ya got me, Sis.” Agnes recalls Claire shortly after this exchange: “Claire could tell us so much if she wanted to…
Claire, who stands on the sidelines, has seen everything, has watched us all… You weren’t given your name for nothing.” Claire is reported to resemble Albee’s aunt Jane, an alcoholic who visits the Albee home frequently.
Harry’s wife’s name is Edna. It is unclear whether she is truly Agnes’ friend or if she and Agnes merely know each other because their husbands are pals. Edna shows up one day at Agnes and Tobias’ house. She assumes they will allow her and Harry to stay for as long as it takes them to overcome their unidentified dread.
Despite the fact that Edna and Agnes’ relationship is unclear (their names are very similar), Edna occasionally takes on the role of Julia’s mother. Although Edna’s demeanor differs from Agnes’, her sentiments are identical. Edna is not frightened to express herself.
Julia is no longer a child, according to Edna, and she should take more responsibility for her life. Julia also no longer has any rights in her parents’ home, according to her.
Edna also confronts Agnes, telling her to stop making fun of her and Harry. Although Edna is unable to identify the dread that has pushed her from her home, she appears to be quite competent in identifying the things that other people are doing incorrectly in their life.
Nevertheless, in the end, it is Edna who recognizes that there are boundaries, even between friends. She recognizes that some boundaries should not be crossed, that “we may not do…not ask, for fear of staring in the mirror.” The play is also resolved through her reflection.
At the end of the play, Edna looks into the mirror and decides that if the tables were turned and Agnes and Tobias came to her, she would not have permitted them to stay at her house.
Harry
Edna’s spouse and Tobias’ best buddy is Harry. Harry and Tobias had an adulterous affair with the same young woman at one point in the past.
Apart from being businesspeople and meeting at the same club, there isn’t much else Harry and Tobias have in common save that they’ve known each other for a long time and none of them sleeps with his wife.
Harry is similar to Tobias in certain ways, yet he is more reserved. Harry is the most silent character in this piece. And when he does speak, he is a guy of few words with long pauses between them. He prefers to talk about issues rather than confront them head-on He also avoids queries, such as when Agnes inquires as to why he and his wife have come to their house.
Instead of responding to Agnes, he compliments the décor in her home. He also has a habit of repeating himself; for example, when attempting to describe how terror has driven his wife and him out of their home, he repeats the same statement four times.
Finally, it is Harry who informs Tobias that he and Edna have decided to leave. Although Harry initiated the conversation with Edna about staying at their friends’ place, it is believed that Edna made the decision and Harry simply conveyed the news.
Julia
Julia is Agnes and Tobias’s 36-year-old daughter. After three divorces, she recently divorced her fourth husband and returned home. Her father dismisses her as a whiner, and her mother seems uninterested in her.
Julia’s life has followed a pattern of marrying for the wrong reasons, divorcing, and returning home. Her parents accept her, while they express their desire for her to develop an independent life of her own.
Julia is the play’s catalyst. While the other characters either hide their emotions in booze or avoid confrontations by burying their thoughts in dull conversation, Julia brings things to the forefront. She has desires, and she insists that they be heard, if not met.
In this play, the most obvious thing she desires is her own bedroom in her parents’ house. As she returns, she discovers that Edna and Harry, her parents’ so-called best friends, have taken over her room.
Julia forces everyone to address the play’s concerns, particularly establishing relationships, wants, needs, and rights, in her attempts to reclaim control of her bedroom.
Julia finally forces the matter by throwing an emotional tantrum, disrupting the furniture and all the things in her bedroom, and threatening everyone with a gun.
Julia frequently disparages her mother and commiserates with her mother’s sister Claire. Julia acts as though she is Claire’s friend until Claire points out that Julia is just as much a visitor at her parents’ home as Harry and Edna are.
Julia, Claire, Harry, and Edna are portrayed as intruders into Agnes and Tobias’ lives. They are all there for different reasons: none of them can survive in the outer world on their own. Julia, despite her advanced age, returns to her childhood to reclaim her place.
She feels no sympathy for the other people who are seeking refuge in the same house. Julia is modeled after Barbara Lauder, one of Albee’s cousins.
Tobias
Tobias is Agnes’ spouse and Julia’s father. He is a prosperous retired businessman. While accepting of everyone around him, he, like his wife, avoids emotive themes. His nonjudgmental attitude toward his sister-in-law Claire’s drinking demonstrates his tolerance for her.
At one point in the play, he encourages her to return to Alcoholics Anonymous, but he does not condemn her for drinking. He even supports it or does not discourage it in various ways.
There are a few subtle insinuations that Claire and Tobias might have at one time had an affair, but this is originally only referred to by script directions that have Claire open her arms to Tobias in a “friendly invitation”. Later in the performance, Agnes asks Tobias (who is unable to sleep) if he visited Claire.
Tobias may or may not have had an affair with Claire, but his infidelity is certain. Claire is aware of Tobias’ romance with a young woman, but she has never told Agnes about it. Claire solely employs the information to mock Tobias. Several critics believe Claire was the young unknown woman with whom Tobias had the affair.
Despite this, Tobias appears secure in his marriage to Agnes, despite the fact that they have not shared a bed for several years. Their marriage appears to have become a habit. Tobias has little care for his wife except in the manner he encourages her views, for example, assuring her that she, of all people, should not be concerned about going insane.
Tobias seemed to be more attached to his daughter than Agnes. Nonetheless, the level of intimacy is not significantly higher. When Julia becomes upset, Tobias is the more worried dad, but all he does is ask Agnes to calm her. Tobias is the one who takes the gun away from his daughter, and Julia apologizes to him for her outburst.
If Agnes is the fulcrum, Tobias is the energy that attempts to maintain balance in this unstable household. He is continually asking people to be more kind to one another.
Or, at the very least, it is Tobias who remains silent as rage erupts around him. Tobias also pours everyone drinks, as if trying to soothe the sting of their frustrations with booze.
Tobias’s buddy Harry (and his wife, Edna) bring the play to a close, pushing Tobias to clarify what friendship entails. Finally, Tobias declares that friendship is about rights rather than wants.
Tobias’s friend Harry has the right to move into Tobias’s house even if Tobias or the rest of his family do not want it. Tobias’s narrative about his cat, which he relates in the midst of the play, contradicts this conclusion. The cat in this scenario preferred to be left alone.
Tobias was irritated by the cat’s noncompliance, and he eventually beat the cat and had the cat euthanized. But, ignoring the cat, Tobias appears to be committed to his idea of friendship. After all, he has allowed his sister-in-law to live off of him.
He lets his 30-something daughter move in and out of his house on a regular basis, and he tolerates his wife. He also tolerates his pal Harry’s unexpected visit to his home. Tobias doubts Harry’s efforts at friendship and honesty at the end of the play. He then apologizes. Albee admits that his adopted father inspired the character of Tobias.
Themes in Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance
Edward Albee’s drama “A Delicate Balance” tackles issues of family, relationships, fear, and social conformity. Some of the primary themes are as follows:
Family: The play goes into great detail into the complexities of family relationships. It investigates the intricate web of emotional links that keep families together, as well as how these interactions may be both beneficial and harmful.
Relationships: The drama investigates how people relate to one another, whether in familial or social settings. It investigates the power, control, and manipulative dynamics in these interactions.
Fear is a recurring motif in the play. Characters are afraid of the unknown, of change, and of losing control. Fear, according to the play, is a powerful force that may motivate individuals to do things they would not do otherwise.
The drama investigates the pressure to conform to social norms and expectations. It raises issues concerning the individual’s place in society and the conflict between conformity and individualism.
Identity: The drama delves into issues of identity and self-awareness. It highlights issues regarding what it is to be genuine to oneself and how people develop their identities in relation to others.
Isolation: The drama also addresses themes of alienation and solitude. It investigates how people might feel alone even while surrounded by others.
“A Delicate Balance” is an in-depth examination of human relationships and the forces that shape them.